The Adventures of Miss Amanda

So...I'm leaving on a mission!

2011-06-13T04:51:00.000-07:00

Tonight I get set apart as a missionary!!!! It's actually happening! (finally)

I had a big ole concert last night...all sacred music. It was fun. I did alright, not my best, but not too bad. And it's over! That's a pretty cool thing! Afterwards we had a bunch of people over for ice cream sundaes which were delicious. We then pulled out my mom's birthday cake and had her blow out the candles. (it was yellow butterscotch chip cake with homemade chocolate frosting...I burnt the butterscotch a little, so it sounds better than it tastes...unfortunately).

Today I'm going to be finishing up my packing, tying up loose ends, getting the last few things I need for the mish, and getting set apart. Then tomorrow at 1:20 I board a plane for Utah, and I then MTC it up starting Wednesday! I'm so incredibly excited!

I'm going to have my parents keep up my blog and my facebook for me while I'm gone...so hopefully it gets done! I'll put all my mission info on here today so it'll be here and on facebook.

I honestly can't wait to go! It's going to be fantastic, I just know it!

~Manda

If my family were all played by actors in the movie of my life.

2011-04-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

I got sent home from work today for being sick. It hasn't been fun. I'm not sure what I have but I'm congested, have a cough and a sore throat, have chills and am rather nauseous. Overall, I feel rotten. So I decided to start the casting for when they finally decide to make my life into a movie...and I started with my family.

This was hard, but I think I ended up with a good cast. Now, they're not really chosen based on looks (my brothers are all blond and all the actors I have are brunette, I know), it's more cuz I felt like they'd be awesome playing that person in my family. So, with that said, here you are, the McClellans celebrityified:

Davis Cleveland as Daniel McClellan

Zachary Gordon as Evan McClellan

Anton Yelchin as Davis McClellan

Ellen Page as Amanda McClellan

Robert Downey Junior as David McClellan

And Sandra Bullock as Lynda McClellan

So yeah, that's the cast I have so far for the movie of my life. It's pretty exciting. That's all, back to my sick bed.

~Manda

Mission Papers: Officially sent off and everything!

2011-01-25T01:17:00.000-07:00

So tonight I got a voice mail from my mom that informed me that my mission papers are all officially in and everything! I'm so excited! It was kind of funny because I was at work eating my peanut butter and jelly sandwich dinner when I checked my voice mail and I literally jumped up and down (which hurt because I sprained my ankle slipping on the ice last night). And the next customer who came in was the first person I told....I'm just soooooo totally excited! So far I've had lots of ideas from people as to where I'll get sent:

My Bishop: Costa Rica or Argentina
Grandma: somewhere Spanish speaking
Aunt Jean: Portugal (or SLC...that's what I've heard A LOT: Temple Square!!)
Mark the Shark: Pennsylvania or Scottland
Jimmy: Russia
Shuey: Nebraska or Germany
Customer: NYC
Josiah: Japan or Temple Square
and me (today's feelings anyway): Kansas or Temple Square for state side and Germany or somewhere in Africa for foreign (I change my mind on kind of a daily basis...so many great places, cannot choose which!)

For now I think I might put up a world map up somewhere and put flagged pins where people guess...I want lots of guesses (it's fun...maybe a little cheesy, but still fun). I honestly don't know where I'd want to go and I really don't care where I get sent, I'm just so excited! And in addition to all this, I just got a new calling as of yesterday--I'm now a ward missionary. I'm super stoked! I'm kind of sad I'm not in charge of all the music (cuz I love music AND being in charge) but I am very excited for my new calling!

So yeah, if you are reading this and can think of a place where I'd get sent, just let me know!

Love ya!
~Manda the future full-time missionary

Cleaning Check Procrastination!

2010-11-09T12:43:00.000-07:00

Has it really been that long?! I used to be so good about blogging and journaling, and now... Well, that's the past now, oh well.

Life has been exciting! I'm just about done with school, I have an awesome job, a few fun voice students, amazing roommates, a ton of really great friends, and so naturally I will tell you about those things rather than finish up for cleaning check right now. (I am unfortunately a procrastination addict.)

School's been good. I miss taking a lot of classes. Just taking voice is a little boring, but I'm doing some really fun stuff, so I guess it's ok. I can't wait till my masters so I can take more classes...*sigh* oh well.

My job is good too. I'm one of the top sales people in the store, my new boss really likes me (getting a new boss only a couple months after I'd started was an ordeal, but it's all fun now!) It was awesome working there on Halloween because I (naturally) got put on candy duty. I got to talk to all the little kids and gush over their fabulously fantastic costumes. We ran out of candy so fast tho...it was CRAZY!!!!!! I loved it tho..especially the part where multiple moms told me how great I was with kids and that with my enthusiasm I should work for Disney! Now wouldn't that be fun (and so totally me?!) I'm unfortunately too tall (and out of shape) to be a princess at one of the parks, but I would seriously love to work for Disney...that'd be awesome!

Our favorite quickly photoshopped pic...the only pic of all five of us...and none of us were together when we took it! hahahaha

My roommates...where do I start?! Well, I seriously LOVE LOVE LOVE them!!!!!!! We all have so much fun all the time and we all get along so well. We've made so many plans, some of which might not ever happen, but a lot of our plans already have! Two of our things that I'm really excited for is our early Thanksgiving and our early Christmas. We decorated like CRAZY for Halloween, and now we're going to have a little apartment Thanksgiving dinner on the Sunday before Thanksgiving and then an apartment Christmas on December 12. We have a "family" prayer and scripture study at least once a week where we go through apartment goals and read scriptures, talk about things that have happened throughout the week and all kneel in prayer together. Just so you can know who and what I'm talking about for future reference here's a little about them all:

Briana (pronounced: BrAI-ana not BrEE-ana...she doesn't like it said wrong...and who could blame her, it's her name) is a freshman at BYU and just about the cutest thing you'd ever see! She is our FHE mom and is always making sure we're doing ok. She's super sweet and super social...kind of impossible to not love!

Kassie is Bri's sister. They share a room and are so so cute in the way they act together. Kassie's on the BYU color guard, is a junior, and dresses super cute! She's always so happy and excited about things...it makes living with her absolutely FANTASTIC!!! Kassie and Bri are also from Spanish Fork..just thought you'd like to know that!

Claire is also a freshman at BYU. She's from Montana, super smart, was Valedictorian of her high school, applied late to BYU and got in with an almost full ride scholarship (she'd have had a full ride if she were a member.) She's super cool...like SUPER cool!!!! I love talking to her about religion because she grew up mostly Lutheran and has a lot of Catholic background too. She comes with us to church occasionally (which is always fun because then the five of us get to be together at church..yay!!!) But yeah, she's awesome!!!

And then there's Brooke. She and I hit it off starting day one! She is so bright and happy all the time, which is good for me (cuz I tend to occasionally not be those things a lot...sometimes). I absolutely LOVE my Brooke! She makes life absolutely fantastic! She puts up with my crazy, is so loving and nice to everyone, helps push me to make friends (I'd be a hermit without her)...oh wow, I just love my Brookery!!!!

So those are my roommates! Aren't they awesome?! Well, like I said, I've got a LOT of friends now...it's kind of crazy, but I'm only going to share a little (a very little) about a select few of them. There are these two apartments down the hall that are right across the hall from each other and my apartment calls them the "touchdown apartments" (long story, but they are the "touchdown apartment" boys.) They are pretty exciting. The Glenwood is doing this big film contest, and their's is probably going to win...once it's online I'll post it here and then you'll be able to see how awesome they are! hahahahaha...it's fantastic!!! (We basically love "Hot" Allen, Chirss, the Heeb, "touchdown" Justin, Rad Dad Chad, Josie, and pretty much all the boys in touchdown!)

This is Chirss (he's really Chris, but what's the fun in that). He dressed as a Zombie slayer for Halloween...he's going to protect us during the Zombie apocalypse!

Starting with the guy holding the spear: Rad Dad Chad, Justin, Josiah (Josie), Shawn, Cody, and then the Heeb is the one being eaten by the gator

Two "hot cops", a hippe, and a zombie slayer...no wonder they're our favorites!

Brooke and I with "hot cop" Allen at the "Unleash the Freak" Halloween dance

So that's life more or less...now I unfortunately really DO need to be cleaning...dang :(

Bye, love ya!

~Manda

Bri, Brooke, and Claire right before True Blue

Bri, Brooke, and Claire after True Blue

The night we stole doughnuts from the Krispie Kreme dumpster and then hung out at Walmart...it was awkward cuz I ran into someone I work with that night...yeah, but fun times!

We had two fish, Waffles/Finn and King Louie...but we ended up accidentally killing them in less than a week...we didn't get new fish, but we did hold two funerals for them.

Bri, Kassie, Brooke, and Claire hiking the Y...I was at work :(

Bri (cave woman), Brooke (Robin Hood), Claire (little Bo Peep), and Kassie (something awesome) at the ward Halloween party with Brother and Sister Morris (bishopric...Where's Waldo and Carmen San Diego...they found BOTH of them...yeah my roommates are cool like that)...I was at work this night too

Brooke, Claire and I all dressed in black and creeped around BYU on the real Halloween...this was when we turned wild!

a dinosaur Brooke and I found on our way home from church

Minnie Mouse, Robin Hood, and the infamous pineapple!

Before the creeping and wild woman part of our Halloween creepin'

The day we decided to dress like each other for our ward introductions at ward prayer...we were sad cuz Claire was in Montana this Sunday

Happy Pioneer Day!!!

2010-07-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

So today, I did NOT want to get out of bed!!! When I woke up I had chills, was nauseous, and my head was pounding. After I opened my eyes and realized that the sunlight coming through my bedroom window and the sound of my fan were making me feel worse I figured out that, yes, I was waking up with a migraine! I'm just glad I figured that out, cuz now I can finish all the fun 24th of July plans I had. Namely cleaning my room and deep cleaning my bathroom (I just got new cleaning supplies so I'm actually very excited about this one!)

Not much to report today, this week's gone by sort of fast. I got a new job at a comfort shoe store at the mall (Tradehome Shoes) were I'll be making minimum plus commission, I hung out with a few of my friends this week, Igot a free pearl necklace, Iworked, had cleaning checks (I passed, yay) and I only had one migraine all week (that's a happy thing!!!) Oh, and last night I realized I'll be 21 in two weeks!!!! How exciting!!!!!! (well, I'm excited anyway! yay!) That's all, just wanted to wish you all a happy Pioneer day!!!!!!!

~Manda

HAPPY 11th BIRTH DAY EVAN!!!!! YOU ROCK!!!!!

2010-07-13T08:44:00.000-07:00

So basically my little brother, Evan turned 11 today (he gets to rhyme with his age again!) He's pretty cool...I mean, after all, his is my brother! He's probably one of the sweetest kids ever, he loves people, he's a crazy good little musician, he's smart as a whip, he always wants to do what's right, he was my model when he was two (he'd let me dress him up in his Looney Tunes letterman jacket and spike his hair and then take pictures...he looked sooooo cute!!!!), but I think the reason I love him so much is that he loves me and thinks I'm pretty cool too (no one tell him the truth, ok? That'd ruin the illusion.) So, Happy 11th Buddy!!!! Love you and miss you! hope you have an awesome birthday!!!!!!

~Manda

Long Day & The Ever Constant Job Search!

2010-07-05T22:37:00.000-07:00

So I'm pretty much WAY tired right now! I've had the most amazing week, but I'm going to post more on that later. I've realized through this week how much of a slacker I really am right now. I was pretty stellar in high school, but I've gotten exceptionally lax as of late and that just isn't awesome. So, there's something to work on! :)

Marly and Claire...yes, your phones and yourselves made my life so much easier this morning... muchisimas gracias por todo!!!!!!

K, so I woke up at 5:45 today and headed over to TRAX (I was in SLC and decided that the earlier I got to TRAX the earlier I'd get to my apt and the more likely I'd be able to get to work on time)...Well, I got to TRAX, checked the schedule, bought me up a ticket and waited...and waited...and panicked a bit as I waited some more. I then remembered that because the 4th of July (my favorite holiday second to Valentines Day) landed on a Sunday that today might be a holiday of sorts...and it was, so no buses. I would've been able to get to Sandy, but not Provo. I then headed to a hotel and used their phone, but it would only call local numbers which made it hard to even call people in my ward. I then found a pay phone and called my mom, and then finally came up with the smart idea of heading back to Grandma's condo (the place I had spent the night with my cousins on our way from Idaho). When I got there I was able to use Marly and Claire's phones (they're my cousins, my life-saving cousins!!!) And at 9:06 I finally found a ride and was able to get to work only a little late.

I worked till 5, got home at about 5:30 and returned to my seemingly fruitless job hunt. I found a few positions open at 7-eleven (mmmm, Slurpees...I want one sooooo bad right now!!!) and Home Depot, and then I was on Facebook with my old KFC buddy, Tyler, and he suggested that I apply where he works: Costco. So, I did. And that was my day...oh, and I had a chicken sandwich and some dry cereal (I was too tired to cook...speaking of which....I really need some water!!!) I also discovered that listening to Lifehouse on Pandora practically SCREAMS high school for me...it's kind of crazy.

Ok, I'm going a little nutty with my sleepiness...have a fantastic night everyone! Love you all!!!!!

~Manda

yaaaAAAaaawwwwnnn!!!! long night!

2010-06-24T08:46:00.000-07:00

So I couldn't get to sleep last night. I've been looking for a new job (not that $7.50/hr isn't great...hahahaha) and for some scholarships (I started looking into Study Abroad programs....wouldn't that be awesome?!) and I kind of lost track of time till 3:45 AM. I tried to go to sleep but I ended up just laying in bed staring at the ceiling for 20 minutes instead of sleeping. So I got up, put on some exercise clothes and went for a walk. I ended up going a total of 9.2 miles (I Google Mapped it when I got home...check it out!). For those of you familiar with Provo, I walked from the Glenwood to Provo Canyon and back (you . I'm tired now, but if I go to sleep I'll miss the incredibly busy day ahead of me. So instead of sleep i'm going to hop in the shower, go give plasma, go to school, then go and do all the other stuff I have to do...and till then I will nostalgically remember my wonderful bed. Wish me luck!

The beautiful view I had while walking...except for the ocean, clouds, and lack of mountains, it looked just like this...just kidding, but it was fun to be awake the same time as all the birds and watch as the sun (hiding behind the big mountains) brightened the whole sky before you could even see it. For a while the sky was this absolutely beautiful cotton candy blue/pink mix...it was pretty...subtle, but pretty!

Oh, and if you hear of any job opportunities near me...let me know, ok?!

Adios!
~Manda

Happy official first day of summer!!!!

2010-06-21T17:04:00.001-07:00

Ok, yeah, I haven't posted in forever, but for starters there hasn't been much to post about besides my overly abundant number of shortcomings and secondly my computer was MIA for about three weeks. But I wanted to wish everyone an absolutely fantastic premier of summer. Longest day, most sun, festivals at Stonehenge...oh the joy! So yeah, that's about all I have for today! Have an utterly fantastic, amazing, awesome day!

~Manda

P.S. Isn't this pic amazing?! I thought so anyway!

Just a little summer fun!

2010-06-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. My computer broke and as we speak it's on a truck on it's way to Texas to return to it's place of origin and get all fixed up! (Get better soon "Baby Mac"!!!)

Just wanted Y'all to know, Ruthie and I have started a little jewelry business...it's been fun and we're going to sell our stuff at the Farmer's Market in Provo. You should check out our blog! Love you all!

~Manda

P.S. Grandma, if you're reading this, let Grandpa know that Elder Amron Taylor says hi. I'll expound on that when I have a computer for a longer span of time! Love you!

The Semester is OVER!!!!

2010-05-03T13:32:00.000-07:00

So, today is the first Monday in FOREVER that I haven't had school or plans in the main part of the day (and I just realized that it's the first Monday in forever that I haven't had to be to school at 8:00 AM...ahhhh, bliss!!!!!!) I have about a week and a half before I have to be back in school so I took today to clean my room (something that still has yet to be done) and dress up in something a little outrageous for my taste. You see, I bought this AWESOME headband and a pair of HUGE black star earrings, each for a dollar on Saturday (my roommates and I went to the mall....it was a BLAST!!!) and they both just screamed '80s. I couldn't help but respond to its pleas. (Yesterday the same thing happened with a hat, bag and bracelet...it was hard to please all three things, let me tell you.) So with that I pulled out a skirt I usually used as a slip (it's not a slip, it's just silky and has this weird lace on the bottom, so it works really well as one when I need it to), a pair of leggings, my Converse, my Levi jacket and just about every piece of dark, metallic jewelry I own and this is what I ended up with (sorry you can't see the skirt etc...it really makes the whole thing make more sense):

I was going for Madonna, but I found that my eyes are far too big and my face is too round...to bad! And really, the tutu-y skirt, leggings, and Converse make the whole thing make more sense, I promise!

And here's my roommates and me at the mall (Fernanda and Carmen...aren't they soooo pretty!!!!?!)

K, one last pic...check out how SHORT my hair was at the beginning of the semester...wow! (I know, it's still short, but I wasn't even able to pull it into pigtails at the beginning of the semester)

Well, that's all...I'm gonna go now. Bye!

~Manda

How to Train Your Dragon = AWESOME!!!!!

2010-04-20T19:47:00.000-07:00

So I just went on a date...and it was so much fun!!!!! We saw How to Train Your Dragon and I just absolutely LOVED it!!! I already love vikings (cuz they're awesome...they're the school mascot for the high school in the book I'm writing...well, most of the time they are...it depends on which back story I'm using...but I'm getting off track) and I love fantasy and dragons and stuff like that. If you're even THINKING about seeing this movie: GO SEE IT!!!! I love it! When the DVD comes out I am soooooooo buying a copy so I can see it over and over and over and over and OVER again! It's so great!

I'd write more about the awesomeness that is How to Train Your Dragon, but I don't want to inadvertently spoil it for anyone (because you ARE going to see it) and I really need to get back to studying (big test tomorrow) so yeah, adios personas!

~Manda

YAY!!! I finished it!!!!!!!!!!

2010-04-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

Picasso's Three Musicians

Munch's Madonna

Lichtenstein's Girl with Ball

Boccioni's Unique Forms of Continuity in Space

So this last week was overly busy...but now I'm done with it, and although I still have a million things to do, but the BIG one is over. I've been working on this great project for my Art History class where I compare late 19th and early 20th century music and art. Now, 20 pages and $50+ later...I'm DONE!!!!! It's a total relief! Now I have a paper, 5 concerts, juries, and finals. But for right now, I think I'm going to take a nap!

~Manda

2010-04-08T16:37:00.000-07:00

Where I wish I was:

Where I am:

~Manda

Opera performance...it's gonna be AWESOME! (so come!)

2010-04-03T13:36:00.000-07:00

So, my opera workshop class is putting on a showcase of a bunch of opera scenes. I'm in one from La Bohème. I'm playing the part of Musetta, a singer. In the scene she walks in with her current beau, an old rich guy who'd do just about anything for her, and she wants to get her old beau, Marcello, to get jealous and fall in love with her again. The fact that he never stopped being in love with her makes this rather easy. She sings a song about how gorgeous she is and how everyone envies her beauty and voice and all around awesomeness! So, I pretty much love the song!

This is the dress that I'm wearing in the scene. We decided to take it into the 50s. I starched up the dress so it looks a lot stiffer and crisper than this picture, and the bow looks a lot perkier. I love it...and it fits me perfectly and, with my cream heels and pearls, looks TOTALLY 50s!

So, I'm really excited for this performance...and I want EVERYONE I know to come!!!! It's really fun, and there are so many great singers in it...so really, please come! Love you all!

~Manda

My future husband....kind of

2010-04-02T21:44:00.002-07:00

So I made this great list of TV show guys that, if combined, would make my perfect husband on my TV blog...it's pretty much just a total joke...enjoy!

~Manda

Glee auditions are now open, and I'm trying out!

2010-03-31T14:50:00.001-07:00

So, I've been planning on entering the open auditions for Glee and I'm pretty excited! Yesterday I received an email from Fox that they've opened auditions from March 30 to April 26. You make a video with a 1 minute introduction and explanation of why you want to be on Glee and then you sing your song. Unfortunately for me you have to pick a song from their song list...that scares me. They are also having you submit the auditions through MySpace (something I haven't used for YEARS) with either a karaoke style accompaniment found on MySpace or a cappella, and they're letting fans (on MySpace) vote for who gets to be on the show...again, terrifying. (But since I'm just doing this for fun and do not expect anything out of it but fun, that's totally fine! yay!) So I thought I'd enlist the help of the (few) people who read my blog to see if I could get any good suggestions. Most of you know my voice fairly well, so let me know what you think I should sing for my audition.

Here's the song list. I'm posting the title etc. as well as recordings from the show and the original artist. Thanks for your help! :)

And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going - Dreamgirls

Gold Digger (Radio Version) - Kanye West

Rehab - Amy Winehouse

You Can't Always Get What You Want - The Rolling Stones

Can't Fight This Feeling - REO Speedwagon

Don't Rain On My Parade - Barbara Streisand

Hate On Me - Jill Scott

Keep Holding On - Avril Lavigne

Lean On Me - Bill Wither

True Colors - Phil Collins

(Sorry about the lame slideshow)

So yeah...none of them are very "me", but tell me what you think!

~Manda

4T's concert opera video

2010-03-30T22:31:00.001-07:00

This is the video of the opera scene from the 4T's concert I was in a while ago...I tried uploading the double quartet one, but it wouldn't work...I'll get it up eventually tho. Enjoy!

~Manda

A super quick (super sad and morbid) fairy tale!

2010-03-25T19:55:00.000-07:00

So, my friend asked for my help writing a fairy tale, so I wrote him one really quick (all he had was "once upon a time" and I plugged one out in a few minutes...but neither of us liked it.) Well, then I came up with this awesome one, but everyone died in the end, and he didn't like that, but I LOVED it! So, before I forget it all I want to share it...so I can eventually make it into an epic poem! So, rough draft numero uno starts....now:

(By the way, this is straight from our conversation...so it's super choppy...it's my response to a suggestion about two men growing up best friends, put in competition for a princess's hand in marriage, and being convinced by a mythical creature that they must fight to the death, but that's not the challenge at all...this is how I answered...I talk too much!)

have a jousting scene...and have the princess totally fall for one of them before this deal is ever made, so the guys are like brothers, but the princess falls for the one and the other falls in love with her (love triangle! woot) and then they are told of the competition for her love which is a series of challenges (like in the tri-wizard tournament sort of challenges) The final challenge is a mystery and will not be divulged to the contestants till right before it happens...the final two are the friends and they have been told by said mythical creature that the final challenge is a battle to the death. The one in love with her begins to totally loathe his best friend, knowing that she loves his sweetness and goodness and chivalry etc. and prepares to kill him, the other knows he cannot kill his friend. They go to the final challenge, believing it's to the death. The final challenge is a series of things from tournament (like sword fighting, joust, etc.) but for points rather than blood. It gets all epic at some point and the friend in love with the princess says he cannot fight any longer, the other friend, partially out of rage for the superior fighting skills of his friend, partially because this surrender was unexpected, mortally wounds his friend. The princess rushes to his side as the man she loves dies in her arms. The king is outraged and the champion explains what has happened (and earlier, when this guy decided to kill he is possessed by the creature...make it a specter...they're cool evil ghost guys!) and the king has the creature cast out of the kingdom and killed. The princess ends up marrying the winner as promised and the winner later commits suicide (hangs himself) out of guilt for killing his friend. Due to all the death around her she flings herself off a bridge over a river full of alligators. The whole kingdom becomes cursed and serves as a lesson to surrounding areas to not be jealous or greedy...it'll feel all old fashioned legit fairy tale with all the blood, gore, and gloom!

Yeah, sorry it's sooo choppy and poorly written, but I thought it was pretty cool! So that's all...well, that and I've been way sick all day...fun fun fun! Adios people!

~Manda

Wish List

2010-03-23T23:01:00.004-07:00

Ok, I'm tired of everything right now! I've been go go go go go go go go go alllllllllllll daaaaaaaayyyyy!!!!!! It's been crazy!!! I taught a mock lesson in my Elementary Music Methods class today, studied (and studied and studied) for an Art History test I have tomorrow, was in a recital and right after that I went straight to work (where the whole time I just couldn't wait to get home to study). That might not sound like a lot, but believe you me, it is! And I have a lot tomorrow too!!! It was funny, after the recital we were all talking about how busy we were (oh, and on top of it all, I think I'm getting sick...I can't stop coughing and sneezing) my friend said she wanted to write a tragic opera about how I get sick, and die, and then I study till I die, and then I practice and practice and practice some more, and die, and perform, and die, and take a test, and die, all in a 24 hour period...(that story may or may not have something to do with something I may or may not have said right before she said she wanted to write the opera...and now we'll never know...dun dun dun!) I'm going crazy...it's just that time of the school year. So, I thought I'd take a little break from studying and mention a few things that make me happy...or could! Here's my right now wish list:

1. I want to own and learn to play the ukulele (preferably green...due to my nearly six year desire to own a green acoustic guitar)

2. I want Michael Bublé to come and serenade me while I do my homework...or to be more realistic, I want all his albums!

So, that's what I wish for right now! It's a short list right now, but that's ok...other than that I don't really want much else besides doing well in school. Oh, that and I also wish I could find all my missing stuff...*sigh* It's ok though, life is good when it's so busy it drives you to the loony bin...plus, I hear straight jackets are in this year! hahahahaha, k, that was a bad joke!

Sooooooo....back to the studying till my brain falls out!

~Manda

And now it's time for some happy songs!

One reason I want a ukulele...her songs are just so cute...her voice is way cute too!!

Michael Bublé!!!!! LOVE that voice!!!!! mmmmmmm :)

Wonderful St. Patty's, wonderful Spring Break!!!

2010-03-17T23:14:00.000-07:00

So it's not only a holiday, but it's the first day of Spring Break!!!!! And instead of getting caught up on homework and working on memorization etc. guess what I did: nothing! Well, that's not completely true, I did nothing school related. I worked on the book I've been writing (something that I NEVER do because I should be doing school stuff instead), I went grocery shopping, I talked to my dad on the phone, I texted my darling aunt Jean, I hung out with my wonderful cousin Rachel, I slept in, stayed in bed and "stumbled", (I did practice a little, but don't tell anyone), I stuck to my diet for the second day in a row (yay me!), donated food to a food drive, and I chatted with many friends I haven't seen in a while...all while looking like a very girly, modern, (tall) leprechaun! It was an absolutely marvelous, low stress way to start off a spring break right!!!

So while I was "stumbling" (that is, going on stumbleupon.com for far too long....only go if you want to find the best way to be distracted for hours, procrastinate, and get absolutely nothing productive done...and if you go, don't say I didn't try to warn you) I found the funniest thing! It was what happened to fairy tale characters long after the stories ended...so I must share! (warning: Belle's freaked me out and Ariel's did a little too)

Snow White

Little Red

Jasmine (I LOVE this one...she looks sooo hard core!)

Belle (see, ewwww)

Cinderella

Sleeping Beauty (I think this one is my favorite!!!)

Ariel (yeah, freaky, just a little)

So yes, those are the pics....some funny, some freaky, (some I don't completely "get"...ok, it's the Cinderella one where I just go "huh?") But they were exciting!

Love all who read this...it makes me feel important! hahahahahaha

~Manda

I've got this song stuck in my head and it goes a little like this:

2010-03-14T21:51:00.000-07:00

So, everyone has those times where they just can't get a song out of there head. Well, I've been having that same problem recently, however I've been having a greater problem: I haven't been able to remember what exactly it sounds like.

I absolutely LOVE my music history class. Well, we were studying Mahler a (recent) while ago and we focused a lot on the correlation between a song cycle of his and his first symphony. Well, instead of focusing on details that probably interest me more than you I'll get to my point. The final movement of this symphony was practically life changing for me. We didn't listen to the whole thing (it's a really long movement) but it's incredible!

The movement starts out in the wrong key (it's in F minor and is supposed to be in D major) and it starts out big, lound, and kind of scary. You can hear two themes going along, one that is oppressive and kind of evil sounding, the other heroically struggling. This is representative of a man fighting the devil for redemption (after death). You hear this go on for a while, and then there's this cadence (that has religious significance here referring to the atonement of Christ, and has historical influence referencing back to Liszt and Wagner, and monks...but that's beside the point) and it's peaceful (and major, but still in the wrong key) for a while...we believe our hero to be triumphant right? But no, the devil comes back and we find ourselves in the middle of the struggle again. After a while you hear the cadence come back but this time instead of resolving like normal and keeping us in the wrong key Mahler just takes the entire thing and moves it to the right key, no modulation or anything! It was a risky move for Mahler because if he had done it wrong in the slightest the move would've sounded choppy, clunky, and sloppy...just plain awkward, but the way it's done is absolutely beautiful. This move represents how no matter how we fight the natural man (the fighting melody lindes at the beginning) the only way to return to God (the "right" key) is through the atonement of Christ (the cadence that takes the piece with one key to the other with no modulation). It's absolutely beautiful, and the first time I heard it I got this image in my head that just hasn't left...so that's what's been stuck in my head for a while! I'm working on it (a man fighting the devil for redemption, surrounded by tiny demons, all black and red and fire and brimstone-y, with a little corner of hope in the top right corner...that's what I see), and hopefully I'll be able to pull it off. (Oh, the movement ends referencing other parts of the symphony and playing that cadence a few more times and then finishing out all major and peaceful and happy...yay, the guy got to heaven!!!)

So, that's all...enjoy!

~Manda

So much to do...so much to do!

2010-03-13T13:26:00.001-07:00

This video pretty much made my morning!!! Thought I'd share!

So, pretty much been way busy. I had one of those nights where you completely lose track of time when you're studying and then you yawn, look at the clock, and all of the sudden it's 2 am!!!! I'm so frazzled...and you can tell by my hair, skin, diet, lack of a social life,etc. (I had Cracker Jacks last night and skipped out on two parties, one of which I helped decorate...so much to do before Monday...no rest for the slacker!) So yeah, I'm gonna go back to memorizing (let me just tell you: memorizing music is SOOOO much easier when you have accompaniment...and thus, I'm struggling.) I also need to do some research and outlining, plan a lesson (not for church...for a school assignment) take a shower, clean, get ready for cleaning checks (so deep clean...yuck!) and hopefully spend at least a little time out of my apartment. Oh, and side note: I'm frustrated with guys! haven't been on a date in ages, I get one and it's now been rescheduled 3 times and last night it got postponed again....I might just consider giving up or something...oh well!

That's all...back to homework I go!

~Manda

Probably in too many words...but today was the BEST DAY EVER!!!

2010-03-08T21:19:00.002-07:00

Ever had one of those days where everything seems to be absolutely perfect and you think that life couldn't possibly get any better? And then WHAM!!!!! God reminds you how mortal you are and how carnal, natural, and misguided you can be at times, but in the kindest, most loving way possible? Kind of like when your mom is so happy that you're getting along with friends, doing well in school, doing everything a good little girl should and then she finds that little corner of the wall that you drew on when you were bored one day about a month ago (that you forgot about, but never completely) and you get severely scolded, but not as bad as if you were doing so many other things wrong too. Yeah, that happened to me today.

I've had an AMAZING day!!! I seriously LOVE Mondays now! I love having to start school earlier than any day (it's amazing what a great start to the week that is). I had a great voice lesson to start the day off. I love my teacher!!! This is her last semester teaching because she is retiring so she and her husband can serve a mission. She is so incredibly talented and I'm so sad that I can't study with her for longer.

After that I had a great (and I mean GREAT...as in my pen hardly ever left the paper great) lecture in my Music History and Literature class. It was an introduction to 20th century music. I have been looking soooo forward to this for a semester and a half!!! I can't wait to learn more so I can better appreciate it (like modern art...I hated it till I learned about it, now modern art is my absolute favorite and the more abstract and revolutionary the more I ADORE it...usually).

Later today I had Art History (the class I, without fail, always enjoy). We've been in Abstract Expressionism for two days now, and today we got to study Jackson Pollock...he pretty much IS A.E.!!! I always love that class, so it's no surprise there that it made my day wonderful.

Another great thing...well, I've been using my time on the bus to study my scriptures. It's not the most ideal place, but I personally believe it's perfect!!! With my bus ride to school I have a half hour scripture study automatically scheduled into my day, and depending on how many times I'm on the bus, there's another half our of study. Well, today I read Alma 26 and FELL IN LOVE with it!!!! Ammon is my favorite!!! I especially love the very quintessential sibling-y conversation you see in v. 10-11....that made me smile sooo big!!! (Isn't Ammon just totally AWESOME!!!!!?!!!?!)

Me with a bunch of UCAS kids...I'm the one on the far left...

with ther really light hair (wow!) We were getting ready for yearbook pics

for the yearbook people and Student Government.

Well, after going home to get the DVDs I forgot to take with me to school so I could return them and getting back to school to return them I ran into someone from UCAS...this is where mom found that little corner that I drew all over the wall paper and then forgot about but not really. As I said, I ran into a kid that I knew, but not very well, from my good ol' UCAS days. I went over and talked to him. He'd been home from his mission for a few months and was going to school and working at a high school and life was good for him. Well, then, after talking with him for a while about various things we'd been up to like his mission, my schooling, Maine...well after all that, the bad news came in the form of the inevitable conversation piece between to first year UCAS students: UCAS. I typically LOVE talking about high school. I had a bunch of friends and knew nearly everyone in the school, I was super involved in a bunch of stuff, and ended up being one of those people who had quite a few pictures in the yearbook. High school was pretty good to me and I got out of it relatively whole. I'd had an amazing bestest best friend (Ruthie), I dated all the time, and I had was happily friends with a majority of the kids at school. But apparently I'd never talked to him in high school (or gone out of my way to be nice...oops). Also, he knew a bunch of people that thought I was kind of mean and really stuck up. And last of all he was best friends with a guy I wasn't exceptionally kind to. Yeah, three strikes. I felt terrible. It's always a little painful to see yourself from the eyes of someone outside your circle of friends (no matter how large) especially when it doesn't paint you in the best light. But we talked and he left thinking I wasn't as bad as my high school self would have him believe...so that's pretty ok in the end!

After that I decided to stick around and get some much needed studying done, and was approached by this girl who told me about a meeting with President Holland (UVU's president) so I went to that and was able to be in this open discussion with about 10 other students and President Holland about our concerns and comments about the University. It was pretty much awesome!!! I was happy that I was able to personally thank him for all the support he's given to the Music Department and the School of the Arts. He told me a lot of the plans they are making for the progression of the School of the Arts. It was really cool and I'm really grateful that I had to go back to school and decided to stick around and study in the library!

I then went home and was home for no more than a few minutes when my FHE family came over (reminding me it was Monday...a fact that I had previously forgotten). And we all went to the Bean Museum and that was fun!

Now I'm home after a great day (with a new, not so fun, perspective on the person I was in high school) and I still have quite a bit to get done on my "to do list", but I had a terrific day!

~Manda

This video makes all of life better!!!

2010-03-08T00:37:00.001-07:00

So my friend had this posted on her facebook wall. I watched it and LOVED it! I've seen Mean Girls a few times (odd movie) and I absolutely adore Disney princesses...It was pretty much awesome in every sense of the word! (If you're into that sort of thing)...Enjoy!

~Manda

Drowning my sorrows in a pint of Moose Tracks

2010-03-07T11:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, so that's not completely true. It's not Moose Tracks (which is too bad because it has become my new all time favorite flavor of ice cream...it's got the vanilla that I love and then all the peanut butter and chocolate, but it doesn't over power the vanilla...yum), it's chocolate custard from Coneys. And I didn't have a pint (which would have been WAY too much ice cream). But yes, the sorrows part is true. The promotion I keep getting promised (and have been getting promised since I started working at Coneys) has been given to yet another person before being given to me. And to top that off, the additional jobs I have been looking at are starting to lay people off and cut hours of their employees, so there's no way I'm getting hired. Very sad day for my small paycheck.

But on a more joyous note, I have stake conference this weekend. It's already been amazing! I do love me some stake conference. (And I honestly haven't minded that today's session doesn't start till 2...very nice change from the normal 9 o'clock Sunday meetings I'm used to.)

Well, I'd best be getting the rest of the way ready for church. And lets all hope I looked a little more composed (like this pic) rather than the one at the beginning of my post with all my ice cream drowning. hahahahaha Love you all!

~Manda

A great night of greatness

2010-03-02T23:12:00.001-07:00

So, I was able to get a good chunk of homework done while I was on the elliptical today so that gave me some time for fun. I stopped by the library at my school and picked up some DVDs before I went home. I got You Can't Take it With You, Amadeus, Little Women (the newer one), and the Importance of Being Earnest (also the newer one). I was able to watch the first two tonight.

I watched Amadeus first (now mind you, it's not the director's cut that's rated R, it's the theatrical cut that's rated PG...I made sure). I've only ever seen a clip of it in my humanities class in high school, but I fell in love with it and have wanted to see it ever since. It was great!!! It kind of reminded me of Marie Antoinette (one of my FAVORITE movies!!!) It was kind of sad though. I really want to own it one day!

Part way through the movie Shuey came over and we went to 7-Eleven where I got a Slurpee and some gummy worms. When we got back I worked on ironing and folding and hanging my clothes while he worked on homework. (Exciting, I know.)

After Amadeus was over I popped in You Can't Take it With You. I've seen the stage production countless times when I was on the sound crew for it in 9th grade. I absolutely LOVE the show and I've wanted to see the movie for forever. It's such a great, funny movie! One day I'll own it, Twelve Angry Men, and And Then There Were None. Boy do I love those movies/plays...Three favorites of mine!!!

So, while you might see this night as boring and eventless I see it as great night of greatness!!!! Its been so relaxing and I've gotten so much done while relaxing and enjoying myself...what an incredible night!!!

So, that's all...I mostly I discovered movies that I really, really want in my personal collection, but it was such a fun night for me!!! And that's all.

~Manda

Huzzah...SUCCESS!!!!!

2010-02-26T18:12:00.000-07:00

So today was the end of this week's high stresses! I sang in master class today (and did very well I thought....it was quite awesome!) And tonight I had the last night of worry in relation to the 4T's concert (a big concert involving the whole school of the arts and their best things to showcase). It was AMAZING! There were so many absolutely incredible performances! I hope I can get a copy of the video...and I hope people post pics and vids up on facebook soon. It was so much fun and so amazing I wish everyone could've come! My roommate came and took some pics of us on the stage...and I got some pics of the GREAT dress I was able to wear!

Well, the double quartet also sang and in my opinion, we NAILED it! We really got into it and I just had so much fun getting to sing with all those amazing singers that are in the double quartet. Being a part of something like that is really a humbling experience..they're just soooo good! I occasionally feel like I can't keep up, but then I work and work and work on my music and realize that I can...with a lot of work! It's so much fun and it's really getting me back into the swing of really LOVING to sing again!

After the concert we all met up with each other and waited for the audience to get out (for girlfriends, boyfriends, spouses, etc.) It was funny, ok, so apparently I got a lot of face time with the camera because everyone recognized me and a few people came up to me and told me how pretty my face was...and then they touched my face. That only happened twice, but it was still pretty weird! (Especially...touching? not my favorite...especially from strangers, but it was an incredible compliment!) and then we all went to Noodles & Company for a celebratory dinner.

Dinner was good and so much fun!!! We got a lot of business things taken care of, like we're going to be practicing every Wednesday at 8:30 pm, and we're going to see if Dyanne (our choir director) would like us to take on a few of the pieces that would sound better with fewer voices so that the Chamber choir can have more time to work on our harder (like really really hard) pieces. Plus, Dyanne's been recovering from a surgery and hasn't been able to be in class all week, so we're hoping to potentially alleviate some of the work...so, that's yet to be seen.

Well, we originally wanted to go to Five Guys for burgers after the concert, but a few people changed there minds right after the concert, so we spur of the moment changed places about 5 times. Unfortunately that left five of us craving burgers and being completely unsatisfied. So instead of being content and going our separate ways we decided to do the unhealthy thing and follow our dinner with In'N'Out..yeah, trying to lose weight and I go there...it's celebratory and so it's just fine! And it was a BLAST!!!!! We all went totally psycho!!!! (but in a good way...kinda.) It was fun fun fun!!!

Well, that's all, I'm way tired, and I've gotta get up early for school! Adios!

~Manda

Phew! (well, I see that being said in the near future anyway)

2010-02-24T00:18:00.000-07:00

This week is one of the craziest weeks of my life!!! I've had so many hours or rehearsal in the past couple of days it's made the days so long to the point where as I'm going to sleep I have to continually remind myself what the next day is going to be. I'm in a big production for the school of the arts where I'm in an opera scene at the beginning of act 1 and singing with the double quartet at the end-ish of act 2. It's been so much fun. I forgot how high energy it is to be in big productions with tons of people involved. For the opera scene I get to wear this GREAT dress. I'll have pics soon (I want lots of pics within the next few days.) It's just gorgeous! I want everyone to see it! I'm also performing in the voice master class on Thursday (the performances of the thing I'm in are Wednesday and Thursday nights at 7:30...at the Regan Theater at UVU if you wanna come...it is gonna be that awesome!)

So yeah, I'm freaking out over the busyness of my life right now...mid terms and performances and memorization on TOP of all this wonderful craziness!!! But good news: I got an AWESOME score on my art history test that I just got back. I was not at all where I wanted to be preparation-wise for this test and was positive that I bombed it, but I got a 98/100....that deserves celebration (not pizza though...I've had that for dinner the past two nights and my waist, pores, and hair are seriously angry about that...yeah, pizza is no longer celebratory food.)

And one more rushed piece of information before I go and get the much needed rest I've desperately been needing (and shhhh...it's kind of a secret...but honestly, how much of a secret can it be if I'm posting about it...oh well.) One of my favorite shows, Glee, is having open auditions for three new characters in season 2. There's going to be more information up on FOX's website soon as to what that entails exactly, but I think I'm gonna try out. I have no delusions that I'd actually get a part, but I'm going to audition anyway. I think it'd be fun and a great audition experience, plus when it's all over I'll have an audition tape that I could potentially use for future things. So, fun fun fun!

That's all for right now, I've gotta go to bed!

Love ya!
~Manda

P.S. These pics are from a day when my hair actually cooperated (and wasn't all tired) and I had time to get ready and do mu make-up right...and when I had some fun with my webcam....I *heart* my webcam!

Yet another new life plan: High School teacher

2010-02-22T09:51:00.000-07:00

So, I'm here at school waiting for class to start...I was gonna exercise while I waited, but I didn't want to get all sweaty before school. 8am is still early for voice, but it's beginning to feel not so early with the sun starting to wake up at a more reasonable hour. I've recently decided that I need to figure out how to get certified to become a high school teacher fast, cuz I want to do that (I want to teach art and music, so I think I'm gonna have to wait to actually become one till after my Master's).

he plays Will Schuster from Glee...he's the teacher in charge of the glee club.

So, I've been watching Glee again (boy do I love that show)!!! Every time I watch it I just want to teach choir and art/art history! I wish I'd known this before I was a senior in college, but hey, I'm still young (right? I always kind of feel like I'm running out of time...I really don't like this feeling...like I have to get everything done NOW cuz there's never gonna be time later...yeah, don't like it.) I know it may seem like I'm flighty with my interests, but I really don't think I am, I think I just change focus...all my interests tend to be the same. And with every change of my mind I'm just getting closer to what I really want to do with my life. I guess I kind of had to be away from high school for a while to realize that I absolutely LOVE working with teenagers. And yeah, I know, I know, I was a teenager just last year, but seriously, people have been thinking I was 23/24 since I was 17. I just keep seeing reasons I'd love to teach high school! It fits in with the whole me wanting to be an EFY counselor and how I loved being Camp Director. I just hope that getting certified doesn't take too long...I really wouldn't like that idea (or spending a load more money on school...ugh!) So yeah, that's the new plan. I'm still going to have the options of being a performer (no thank you!) or a curator (which would still be insanely awesome) but I've realized that I love people (k, I've always known that one) and I really do enjoy teaching (duh, but I've always avoided admitting it). It was funny, I told my friend, Shuey, last night about my new plan and he looked at me like I was crazy and followed that up by saying, "You really liked high school, didn't you?" I thought about that for a little bit, and yeah, I most definitely did. I mean, it was really hard for so many reasons, but if you look at my last two years, I had a bunch of friends, I was super involved, I did fairly well academically (for Manda standards...not normal people standards), I worked really hard, went to every dance (and had a date to almost all of them), etc. etc. High school was good to me (junior high was another story..and the first two years of high school...but that's ok, we won't get into that.) Yeah, I think I'll stop now...I just really hope that getting certified won't take too long (I seriously wish I could just jump into student teaching right now!) But yeah, I think it's a good idea (and smarter for me than elementary school.)

And yeah...that's all! I want to teach high school. Goodbye!

~Manda

I love fashion blogs!!!

2010-02-18T21:42:00.000-07:00

I have fallen in love with a few blogs lately, but especially this one! It's all vintage clothes and accessories and stuff...and yes, it IS awesome!!!! And I absolutely ADORE it!!!!!! Yes, that is all for today!

~Manda

Pretty dress

2010-02-17T20:19:00.001-07:00

Such a fun fun fun Spring dress (that I kinda want) I found a giveaway for it on a friend's blog...too bad I don't look all that great in yellow :(

The giveaway can be found here.

That's all.

~Manda

Valentine pics!

2010-02-16T23:48:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the brunch. (Sorry I avoided my face in them so much...I don't really like pictures when I'm cooking...or not expecting them.) It was a fun day!

Ok, cutting sausages into hearts might SOUND like a cool idea...but it is soooo gross!!! These guys helped me crumble up the parts that weren't hearts...they agree with the whole grossness thing! EWWWW!!! (they were very tasty though...everything tastes better when it's in the shape of a heart!!!)

Me and my mountain of French toast

Carmen and her pancakes

Hannah and Fernanda...yeah, they didn't help cook at all....fakers! hahahahaha

Apartment 50 girls (and Hannah)...We LOVE them!!!

ALL the FOOD!!!

Carmen's brother, Pablo, got there late...but he did get food...no worries!

Sooooo...yeah, that was my happy (oh so very happy) Valentine's Day (and my outfit was PERFECT...I didn't wear my scarf in these pics cuz it was awkward with an apron on and I didn't want to get food on it). So...happy pics!!!

~Manda

IT"S FINALLY HERE...but it's over now

2010-02-15T00:15:00.000-07:00

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!!!

Yes, yes...my fave holiday has come and pretty much gone now. It was fun! I sang in Relief Society (Where Love Is from the Primary Songbook) and I had my pretty much awesome brunch. I invited A LOT of people to come (like really, really a lot) but we had our friends from apartment 50 come and some guys...I can't remember what apartment they were from, and a guy that we a gave a ride home from church. Yeah, pretty much a party! It was so fun, seriously! We had pancakes and French toast, heart shaped sausages (it was sooooo gross cutting those in the shape of hearts with cookie cutters and then crumbling the rest...just...ewwww...but they were really yummy!!!), scrambled eggs with sausage in it (those were all gone before I could start eating :( but that means they tasted really good :) and that makes me very happy), orange/mango juice, apple juice (that was from pressed apples...it was some of the best apple juice I've EVER tasted!!!), oranges, bananas...yeah, TOTAL feast!!! I made everything but the pancakes (Carmen made those...I taught her how to make circle pancakes every time instead of funny shapes...and she had so much more patience than me so they looked absolutely PERFECT: golden and totally fluffy...jealous!) It was awesome having so many people eating (and loving) all the food I made!!! I used a carton and a half of eggs, about a fourth a gallon of milk (maybe more), a loaf and a half of bread (really delicious white bread...the heavy kind from the Sunflower Farmers Market...YUMMMMM!!!) There was mucho mucho good food! IT was a BLAST to cook it all and have all those people here.

Well, Fernanda took a lot of pics, so I'll probably have those up soon. I hope you all had a wonderful Valentines day!!!

~Manda

Shopping spree!!

2010-02-13T16:09:00.000-07:00

I did end up going shopping today. I didn't find the beret at D.I. (not too surprising being that I saw it about a week ago.) Unfortunately there wasn't anything that caught my eye on my trip today. When you're looking for specifics you generally can't find what you're looking for. I did, however, find a really pretty navy blue formal that was velvet on top and satin on the bottom with ribbon around the waist and a bow with rhinestones on the back. It was $25 and one size too small for me tho :( (I've also given myself the limit of $20 for a formal). So yeah, I didn't get that either.

After D.I. I went to Susie's Deals (the best store on the planet) and finally found a black button up vest. It was a lot cooler than what I had in mind (I've been looking for one since about September) and I found a really long, sleeveless hoodie that does just about nothing for my figure, but it's so comfy and feels cute, so that doesn't really matter too much to me. And I found a red sweater with a big button on the collar for tomorrow (pics are forthcoming). I wasn't positive if I liked it, so I bought it with the intention of returning it if I found something better.

Then I went to ShopKo where I found something I've been in need of for a while: a plain, says nothing, hearty (y'know, good quality, will survive the apocalypse), just below knee length, straight black skirt. It was on sale, but it was still more than I wanted to spend by a few dollars...but it was 50% off and I'd been looking for a skirt just like it for FOREVER...so I did end up getting it. Plus, it made me LOVE the sweater I had just bought. I also found the awesomest silky scarf on clearance that totally goes with my new sweater and new skirt...so, voila: Valentines outfit!

I then headed toward the mall just to see what sales might be going on. I got a little girl's red hair bow at Claires and I found a cream beret on clearance at Charlotte Russe. At Charlotte Russe I found out the most devastating news EVER!!! They carry my absolute all time favorite scent: Shine! But they discontinued it about three months ago (yeah, I hardly ever go to the mall now)...it's the perfume I've been in love with since I was 14. The smell isn't overbearing at all, and not super sweet or musky. It smells a little like grapefruit, and it reminds me of happy times in junior and high school...farewell Shine...you're still my favorite! I will miss you!!!

After that I went to the Sunflower Farmer's Market for the last few things I needed for Valentine's brunch after church tomorrow. (We're having French toast, heart shaped sausage, eggs, hot chocolate, orange juice, apple juice, etc...I am so excited!!! I'm doing all the cooking...that's why it's all breakfast foods...I never really seem to have any problems cooking breakfast.)

So, happy Valentines Day tomorrow...get excited for one of the most pointless, frivolous holidays of the year that's all about being all lovey dovey and red and pink...oh, how exciting!!!

~Manda

P.S. Here's a picture with my new scarf, beret, and sweater...I'm a Deschanel wannabe...oh well.

Clothing idea "shopping" + shower = All good-mood-y now!!!

2010-02-12T23:09:00.002-07:00

Ok, so after that last post I went and took a shower and feel much better now.

Well, I've been looking for ideas of what to wear on Valentines Day. For a long ol' while I've just ADORED the holiday. I decided that it's a great day to dress up and get all cute (and buy a new outfit), bake, make things for friends, etc. etc. I just love it (it IS my all time favorite.) So, because I dress up every year I need to keep that tradition alive...but what to wear?! I'm pretty sure I know what I'd wear if it were a weekday (my red dress)...but as it's on a Sunday this year (and I wear that dress to church a lot) I needed to do some research (and some possible bargain shopping tomorrow).

Well, I enlisted the help of Google and a few of my favorite fashion icons: Zooey Deschanel, Katy Perry, and (of course) Audrey Hepburn. I just wanted to share a few of my favorite pics I found!

K, first of all I absolutely adore Zooey...she is pretty much just incredibly awesome!!! I recently saw a red beret at D.I. and thought about getting it...I didn't, but now I'm really wishing I had. And check out those glasses! They look SO much like the ones I just bought at D.I., how about that! (I was pretty much way excited about that when I found this pic...if I can be at all like Zooey fashion-wise, that is a gooood thing!) I've been really wanting scarves lately and this one here is no exception. Wish I could pull off sweaters better...but they tend to just make me look bulky and not feel all that pretty...but there's always the occasional one that I love!

K, more Zooey. I really liked these because of the tights! I used to NEVER wear tights!!!! (Pretty much as a rule...I had always considered them to be too much like nylons or I'd associate them with being little...and let's see, who focuses a lot of her energy on not losing the ideals of a 4 year old? Oh yeah, that'd be me...not sure WHAT I was thinking...hahaha) But my roommate last semester, Debbie (the one from England), she wore tights all the time, so I decided to try it! They are so comfy and warm and not at all like annoying nylons (they don't get runs as easy!) But I only have black ones. I'd love some navy blue, shimmery silver, or redish-purpley ones! (Also...in the top pic...I want a yellow skirt now...but a longer one.)

Ok, the first one isn't Audrey Hepburn, but it is most definitely an Audrey-y dress. So I was looking at the two of these and thought if combined (the lacy, asymmetrical collar and bow on Zooey's and the circumference and length of the Audrey look alike) they would probably make an awesome wedding dress!!!! Especially with a veil kind of like this:

but white of course (and with a normal bow...but big and shiny...and a few beads/jewels in the veil.)

I think it'd be awesome...it'd totally rid me of my Converse idea (which would please my mother greatly! hahahaha...I don't actually think I'd ever be able to go through with it anyway.)

Yeah, those were a few of my findings (There were tons of Audrey and Katy things that I liked, but people generally know and love Audrey already...and a lot of Katy's things are pretty extreme...love her tho!)...the only real possibility is the top Zooey one (and that's only if I could find a cheap sweater that fit right...oooh, and a wool pencil skirt, and to make it church-y a big red bow in my hair instead of a hat...k, now I want that real bad! hahaha)...So tomorrow I'm going to go deposit my latest paycheck and visit D.I., Susie's Deals (where EVERYTHING is $6 or less), TJ Maxx, Ross, and then maybe a few other stores if there're sales to see if I can find anything for my favorite holiday...I'm excited (and then the search for either a borrowed formal or one that's under $20 begins!)

Happy fashion! :)

~Manda

Dejected-feeling, tired, listless...it's just one of those days

2010-02-12T19:05:00.000-07:00

So, today I'm very frustrated!!! I've been working on losing weight: eating healthy, going to the gym, reading my scriptures (because I am TOTALLY convinced it helps! like really!!!), etc. etc. and yet, NOTHING!!! I've gained weight back from when I lost 25 lbs. at the end of the summer, and it's really kind of freaking me out!

I love checking out my friend's blogs. A lot of blogs I follow have to do with fashion and stuff and so I see a lot of pictures of thin, thin girls with awesome clothes. It makes me rather jealous (which is way bad...I know).

And then there's school. My opera workshop class is doing a scene from La Traviatta. It's a party scene and we have to dress up in formals. It is sooo incredibly EXCITING!!! We're doing it on the 24th and 25th of this month for a big tribute night thing for the school of the arts that I'm also performing in with the honors double quartet (yay!). Well, we need to be in formals for this performance...there's one itsy-bitsy problem with this...all my formals are in my closet in Maine. I honestly didn't think I'd be needing them, but now I need to find one. There are girls in my class who have many formals (like pageant winners) and are more than willing to share. Well, they're all size 6/8 or smaller...and it just makes me sad and frustrated...grrrr....sorry about the negativity!

Yeah, that's been frustrating! And that's today's news...too tired and dejected-feeling to write more.

Other than that life is good! Love you all!

~Manda

A new favorite artist

2010-02-11T23:28:00.001-07:00

So, my absolute favorite class this semester is my 20th Century Art and Architectural History class hands down!!! First of all my teacher has got this style that is totally lawyer/art historian (which is awesome cuz that's exactly what she is) but she's also one of the coolest, smartest people I've ever met, and she's got the most amazing personality...I pretty much want to grow up to be exactly her!!! She is sooooo my hero!!!

Other than that, I have totally rediscovered my intensely insane passion for all things modern art!!! It's probably my favorite thing in the world! I love all the movements, experimentation, emotion, politics, ideas...EVERYTHING ABOUT EVERYTHING!!! I love it ALL!!! I eat it up and absorb it like a sponge! I have totally remembered why I originally wanted to be an art historian...but I think I've discovered that I want to focus on the modern stuff. It's just so fascinating. I start reading and studying and all it leads me to is wanting more and becoming completely and utterly obsessed!!! (Like me with TV...I'm a junkie for modern art...only I actually really want to pursue a legit career in it and that idea doesn't scare me in the least.) I've already decided that my heart isn't in performing and music. I've always enjoyed it, and I still do, but I have a fiery passion for modern art. I'd love to be a curator and design exhibits (cuz that's EXACTLY what curators do!!) Plus, curators are hard to come by so once a museum finds one and gets them, they kind of hold onto them for dear life. And just imagine all the knowledge a curator must have?! Typically an exhibit is all done being planned FIVE YEARS before it ever goes up. And there is so much research involved and even artistic interpretation...it's like the coolest job in existence!!! I mean, sure there must be downsides, but I honestly don't see any...but to the point of this blog (I kind of just went on an extreme tangent...sorry.)

So, in class I discovered a new artist that I've just fallen in love with. I'm gonna give you a little background into my favorite kinds of art to help you understand before I explain Malevich (Russian, properly pronounced kind of like Mah-yeh-vich...but the "ch" more like the "h" in the word "hue") to you. I love minimalism, Dada, Pop Art (Lichtenstein only though), synthetic and analytical cubism among other things. I mention these specifically due to their simplicity, ideas of how to treat space, and the way they all seemed to have become simpler and more abstracted through the run of their movement. Ok, so with that rather uninformative and not well written preface...Malevich. He invented Suprematism which he believed to be the most supreme (hence the name, imagine that) form of art. He would take images and break them down into the simplest shapes possible. Originally he would take the parts and break them down. As his style progressed he began to break those down even further. By the end they were so simple that the color would be gone and you got a lot of black and white (and even the occasional white on white). When my teacher started teaching about him she said that there would be people who loved him and thought him to be a genius and those who would believe him to be a joke and a total disgrace on the art community, and everyone else wouldn't care a whole lot. From the minute I saw his first pieces and saw how he could simplify to the extreme I believed he was a complete genius!!! So yeah...what do you think? Genius or crazy? My opinion isn't ever gonna change (just like with Lichtenstein...I couldn't care less about Warhol, but Lichtenstein is a hero of mine!!!)

So yeah...Malevich...obsessively LOVE his work!!! You might see it and think "Ok, looks minimalist...looks like the stupid, random modern art that a kid could do" or whatever...but just hear me out for a minute. He was in Russia where the traditional art hadn't changed too much since the Byzantine empire (that's way old!) So when modern art started reaching Russia it wasn't due to too much Western Europe influence (which was pretty much the hub of the art world at the turn of the century). Art was still extremely conservative in Russia. You saw a little influence from impression/expression and a little bit of cubism, but not heavy influence and super fast paced change (the Russians liked to keep to themselves...still do...Russian art collectors like all of a Russian artist's work to stay in Russia.) So, when Malevich started doing this it was not only extreme for the entire Western world, but über extreme for Russia. It also seems like a lot of minimalist pieces of art...but get this: it was done about 40 years BEFORE the minimalist movement!!!! (Blows your mind, I know!) Unfortunately when the Soviet Union came about they didn't like Malevich's "art for art's sake" type stuff. They wanted all art to have a purpose so implemented a lot of his ideas into graphic design and stuff just so the idea wouldn't be lost and it could have reason and purpose (too bad).

So yeah, new fave! Isn't art fun?! :)

~Manda

My yesterday Adventure

2010-02-10T16:33:00.000-07:00

So, I was sick in January...started the second day of school. I went to the doctor, got all medded up, took all the antibiotics, and went on my merry way...singing(tra-la-la). And then one tiny detail got in my way...a cough! I've had a cough for a month now and it's been making singing very difficult. During my voice lesson Monday morning (yeah, 8am is still early!) my teacher and I became concerned, so I made the decision to visit the clinic yet again (it's starting to become a second home to me...haha, not really, but close...hahahaha). I made an appointment for 2 the next day (which was yesterday).

Yesterday after choir I decided I'd get some lunch while I waited. I ran into three friends from choir, so we all ate together and had a pretty fun time doing it (and being total music geeks, what with the talking about the problems and potential problems in the music dept, vocal vs. instrumental music, composers, musicians, popular styles vs. classical...yeah, geeks, and proud of it!). By the time we were done eating I still had an hour and ten minutes before my appointment. I checked in anyway (cuz what are waiting rooms for if not to wait?) Slowly other people trickled into the waiting room and each in turn followed my example of pulling out his laptop (they were all guys, I am being gender specific...if it was guys and girls I would be grammatically incorrect and have said "their" cuz I like the way it sounds...it's always sounded better to me than "his/her"...ewww...now where was I?) I had expected to have to wait for a while so I upgraded the access agent for the school server and while that was happening I decided that I'd watch and episode of Buffy (yeah, I didn't decide to do homework...I'm bad like that *sad*)

Well this one guy was having problems connecting to the internet, so I went over to help him. Turns out he was trying to connect to the secured server which doesn't work (you need to connect to the open server and then you download the access agent and sign in through there...so that's what I told him...he didn't really get it.) As I was showing him how to connect they called me into my appointment (about an hour before it was supposed to happen...sweeeeet!!!)

Well, my doctor was the same guy who helped me when I was sick in January, which was nice, cuz he pretty much already knew what was going on and didn't make me tell him my whole story. He said that I might have a mix of left-overs from when I was sick, and possible allergies. So he put me on an inhaler and told me to get some Claritin. I then left the clinic and headed to Wallgreens for some happy new medicine (to take in addition to the medicine I'm still taking from an earlier thing...yeah, lots and lots of medicines, yuck!)

So now I'm here posting because I think it's a combo of nerdy/cool to have an inhaler. I've always thought they were kind of weird things. Normally the kids who had them (when I was little) couldn't run too much in kickball (my favorite game as a kid) and they were usually really scrawny and had mousy hair and glasses (and then I look at pics of me back then...yeah, I'm not sure how I thought I was cooler than anyone...hahahahahaha). But, as a kid there was always a mystery to me of why they had them, what they did, what was in them (I thought it was air...silly me...hahaha)...they were always sort of cool in this incredibly odd sort of way (like how people who don't wear glasses always want to try people's glasses on...that sort of thing). But yeah, I have an inhaler now, and I take 3 different medicines everyday right now...and that's weird to me (normally I only take medicine when I have a headache...so yeah, this is different).

yeah, me as one of the kids I described above...I've never been super cool...

but I thought it was funny...I read comics (Manga, no less), I wear glasses,

I wear kind of nerdy clothes a lot (I don't ever wear my hair like that tho)

and now I have an inhaler...it makes me happy! I'm a TOTAL, stereotypical

looking nerd now...kind of awesome!

So those are my adventures from yesterday! Kind of odd, but I enjoy them!

~Manda

The Princess and the Frog....and sigh Louisiana

2010-02-08T23:48:00.000-07:00

So I finally saw the Princess and the Frog today (my roommate had it downloaded on her computer and gave it to me). It was SOOOO cute!!! I absolutely LOVED it! (I think it'll probably be up there with the Lion King and Beauty and the Beast in my book...which are my all time favorite Disney movies).

I loved the music and the characters, but the thing I probably loved most (besides all the 1920's fashion--dresses, hats, shoes, hair...LOVED that!!!) was how Louisiana it was! I loved the firefly zydeco band, the alligators, the accents, the food (benyays....yummmmm!!!! and frog legs, and crawfish, and gumbo...I know I didn't get to eat it or anything...but all the food down there is soooo good!!!), the jazz, the Mardi Gras parade, the freaky voodoo stuff (sooo freaky....sooo scary!!!), the trees, the bayou...ALL of it!!! I just adored the whole thing! It was so much fun!

So, because of this incredibly adorable movie I want to go down and visit Louisiana as soon as is humanly possible...and re-experience everything (so I'd be able to remember it). Yeah, I've always wanted to be able to say I'm from Louisiana...cuz that would be the COOLEST!!! I mean, the pelicans, magnolias, Indian mounds, the moss, the way all the water in the air collects on everything and the fact that when you're camping it feels like the whole world took a shower while you were asleep, the rain (the warm rain), the complete lack of seasons, the green green green, the way you can practically see the air a lot of the time, all the trees, the flowers, the fact that there is so much life everywhere all the time, all the water (even though that gets really gross sometimes), the fog, the FOOD!!!, the people, the music...so yeah...go see the Princess and the Frog...instant classic there!!!

~Manda

Just a few of my favorite songs from when I was 9 and in Japan

2010-02-06T18:59:00.002-07:00

Puffy - Mother

Shingo Mama - O-ha

Kinki Kids - Flower

Morning Musume - Inspiration!

Morning Musume - Love Machine

Morning Musume - Renai Revolution 21

So yeah, I was looking at a few of my CDs today and found my old Morning Musume albums...it made me all nostalgic (for first generation DDR, J-Pop, Japanese TV, Hello Kitty, Elementary School, water balloon yo-yos from summer carnivals, my old friends, big pencil cases that I wish I could find and still use, manga, yummy pop-cycles, and Japan in general)...so I thought I should share a little bit of what I love!!! Enjoy!

~Manda

A new favorite piece of art!!!

2010-02-02T23:53:00.005-07:00

Frank Stella, La scienza della pigrizia, 1984

K, so the actual piece...not totally a fave, but the NAME...whoa....it's like an entire (unfortunate) life manifesto on a wall. La scienza della pigrizia (The Science of Laziness) by Frank Stella (he's a minimalist...for a while anyway...he did a LOT with stripes...he was influenced by Pollock and Kline, both abstract expressionists).

I found it as I was doing research for a music/art history project (I'm using the research for both classes, different papers, same research...pretty sweet!) So yeah, the Science of Laziness...I just LOVE that title!

I had so much fun today with my research. I got to look at pieces by Mondrian (totally LOVE his stuff!!!), Brâncuşi, and I got to think about Duchamp (one of my absolute FAVORITE artists!!!), and Lichtenstein (an artist I probably won't showcase in my project, but he's my all time favorite artist!!!). *sigh* Boy do I LOVE art!!!!

Piet Mondrian, Broadway Boogie Woogie, 1942-43

I got to see this one in New York at the MoMA... LOVE Mondrian...like seriously. He was one of the founders of De Stijl, a Dutch movement that means "the Style" (and is pronounced surprisingly similar to that). They focused on using black, white, and primary colors and very geometric shapes. I thought he was minimalist, but he wasn't, he just really influenced the movement. This piece was really influenced by the music of the day. Mondrian loved music (and that's pretty cool!)

Piet Mondrian, Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow, 1930

This is probably my favorite piece of his! Very quintessential Mondrian (in my opinion).

'Sleeping Muse', bronze sculpture by Constantin Brâncuşi, 1910

"The Endless Column" in Târgu Jiu, Romania, as restored after 2000

Brâncuşi doesn't really fit into much of a solid movement cuz he's mostly into sculpture, but he was also a really big influence on the minimalists. The column is in this totally random place in Romania. It's about as tall as a 10 story building and it's in the middle of this totally rural area. It was originally commissioned for an Indian temple, but the temple was never built, so it just stayed in Romania...all random and everything.

Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2, 1912

K, this is one of my absolute FAVORITE pieces ever!!! It's cubist, but I like it so much more than Picasso (I think it's mostly because you don't get to see a whole lot of cubism from Duchamp). It's in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, so I've never seen it in real life...but I soooooo very much want to!!! The story behind this is really kind of sad, cute, cool, funny. It was all ready to be in a display in Europe but the place that was holding the exhibit told Duchamp's brothers (who were also artists) that they needed to tell him to remove the painting from the exhibit. They said the reason was that he etched the title into the painting (you can sort of see it in this picture...it's in the bottom left), but that's debatable truth due to the fact that text was very prevalent in cubist art. So Duchamp went to the exhibit, unbeknownst to his brothers, and removed the painting himself, and went back home all dejected in a taxi. He then moved to New York and displayed this same piece in an exhibit there. It was so shocking to the public and a lot of people either hated it or didn't quite know what to think of it. There were so many different reactions to it that it became the most famous piece in the exhibit, so Duchamp decided that New York was the best place for him, so he stayed and kept doing (a lot of rather shocking) art.

Marcel Duchamp, Fountain, 1917

I got to see this one!!!!! In real life!!!!! And the picture in real life too!!!!! It was also at the MoMA when I went...they had a Dada exhibit. I saw it! It was just as weird in person! I saw the "R. Mutt" and EVERYTHING!!!! Dada art is soooo weird, and that's exactly is purpose. It's designed to be purposeless, and that's why it is so incredibly awesome!!!! (yeah, I saw that one!!!)

Roy Lichtenstein, Drowning Girl, 1963

I got to see this one too! Not quite as exciting as all the Duchamp stuff I got to see. I love Lichtenstein, but you pretty much always know what to expect: cartoons. And that's why I love it! I had an art teacher in 7th grade that said "comics are NOT art!" I vehemently disagreed with her, but she didn't budge on the topic. And then...behold: Lichtenstein. When I first saw his stuff and had to do a report on him (I had to do a report on Duchamp too...hence the total and complete adoration) I couldn't get enough of it! I looked for piece after piece after piece. It was pop art, but not Andy Warhol!!! And it was COMICS!!!! I love comics!!!! His later stuff is more abstracted, but none the less awesome!!! So yeah, LOVE that man's stuff!!!! (And I got to see two of his pieces in real life!)

So yeah, probably more than you wanted to know about my love, obsession, excitement in relation to art history, but I do love it!!! Especially the modern stuff (hence the me taking 20th Century Art and Architectural History this semester). So, hope you enjoyed the little crash course in "Manda's completely trivial knowledge about random pieces of art that don't have that much to do with her project or her class but that she thinks are totally worth while anyway!" cuz I sure had fun today with my long, long hours of research! Love you guys!!!

~Manda

P.S. check out this awesome quote I found during my research:

"Work like a slave; command like a king; create like a god."

~Constantin Brâncuşi ♥

I loved it!!!

I Love Lucy!!!

2010-02-02T16:15:00.005-07:00

So this morning my mom called me very excited...I was concerned...just kidding. No she called me and told me the Doppelgänger that takes the cake! She was looking at pics of me (with all my silly, silly facial expressions) and she said that the person I look the MOST like is........*drum roll please*.......LUCILLE BALL!!! How exciting, I know!!!! I at first laughed, thinking my mom had gone crazy, but then she explained that with the right hair and make up I could totally look like her! I then went picture hunting....I agreed! (hahahaha, picture hunting for Lucy is a BLAST! She is so much fun!!!)

So, through 8th, 9th, and my first year of high school I was known as Lucy to my friends (cuz they all said I was just like Lucy in I Love Lucy)...so this is way fun! Also I did a huge semester long project on her in 9th grade, AND we share a birthday, so it's extra awesome!!! Well...tell me what you think of the latest look alike! Love you all!!!

Me trying to do her awesome lip gloss pose with my webcam...hahahaha

(After I had changed out of the Lucy webcam shoot clothes, but still had the make-up on)

~Manda

P.S. How much do you just LOVE the one where she's feeling Superman's bicep? I just about died it was so great!!!!!

Happy February!!!

2010-02-01T20:29:00.000-07:00

Happy February everybody!!! I love this month. You're still not completely used to writing the new year (though now you'd never admit it cuz you've been in it a whole month!!!), it has 2-3 fewer days than any month of the year ('cept leap years...it's 1-2 days then), and the biggest and best reason I love this month: it's home to my absolute favorite holiday...Valentine's Day!!!!! I'm not completely sure why it's my favorite, but it has been forever.

Happy February!!!

~Manda

DANNY!!!!! Happy Birthday Buddy!!!!

2010-01-31T17:31:00.000-07:00

Gotta Love the Danny-cakes!!!! I know I sure do!!!

Danny August '09...it's when grandma was in Maine!!!

Self-Portrait: Danny December '09

Shepherdess and Shepherd December '09

Cuties on the last day of school June '09

Waiting for the longest day's sunrise June '08

"fun with Photobooth" (series of 4) December '08

Kids being silly December '09

Happy 8th Birthday Danny!!! You are the awesomest!!!!

~Manda

NEW CALLING!!!

2010-01-31T13:56:00.000-07:00

So with the split of our relief society into two relief societies I lost my calling as compassionate service leader. But today I got a new calling as Sunday School chorister. So I'm probably gonna look a little something like this every Sunday:

but probably not...probably more like this:

Ok, not that either. But I'm pretty excited.

So today I pretty much woke up late and was a few minutes late to Relief Society as a result. I was given a few minutes alone time because of this and I decided to pray, like a really heartfelt prayer. I told myself to not worry about the time I took on the prayer, because unfortunately I don't allow myself enough time to really converse with God and I rush through my prayers. This was interesting because I at first didn't know what to say. I normally (to my disappointment) say almost the same things. I think before I speak, but not a whole lot...I'm not creative in the way I speak to my Heavenly Father, which is sad, because if you think about it, I'm creative when I talk to friends and family (I want them to think of me as smart/clever...and I mean, c'mon, who doesn't want that?!) and I try to be creative in my writing (there is nothing that bugs me more than reading something I have written and finding it to be dull, full of the same words, and completely repetitive to the point of redundancy.) So (to get to my original point) why would I not allow myself the opportunity to be creative, eloquent, and literate when speaking to my Heavenly Father.

Well, after the moments of complete speaker's block (like writer's block but when you're speaking) I remembered what I had talked with my group about at my EFY counselor interview, so I began to share what I was grateful for, pushing all the things I wanted to ask for out of my mind and focusing on gratitude. I shared how grateful I was to be able to spend time with my friend, Shuey, last night. Even though all we did was study, him nursing and me music (not much overlap...it gets entertaining when we try to share things we're studying) I was grateful to be reminded that I actually do have friends. I shared my gratitude for giving me roommates last semester who I'm still in contact with and who think about me fondly and who I think about fondly and miss often. I shared gratitude for my current roommates and for the opportunity that having them will give me to grow. My hair, my room, my ward, my education, my absolutely wonderful, caring family, my friends, the opportunity I had to run into Ruthie the other day at school, gum, jewelry, make-up, music, and a few other things were other things I stated my gratitude for. I then asked. I was surprised because normally there are three people I pray for everyday, but this morning I didn't stop at three. I kept going to include all my old roommates, new roommates, people that have recently really touched my life, people that I don't really like too much, and every member in my family (and all by name, asking for blessings specific to them). I then asked for help to be a better instrument in his hands and for help to more fully keep his commandments. Now, I ask for those things for myself often, but today, after concentrating on gratitude and service for my friends and family the blessings I asked for myself took on greater meaning.

Well, after that I went to church and caught the last 20 minutes of Relief Society (after running into an old bishop's wife, Sister Bradford and catching up with her). After Relief Society a member of the bishopric pulled me aside and extended me a calling to be a Sunday School chorister. (Check it out, immediate blessings for sincere prayer!!!) And I'm excited. I got sustained in Sacrament meeting and set apart right after church. I'm happy to have a calling again and I am going to magnify it awesomely!!!

Well, that's all!

~Manda

Mom's vote

2010-01-30T16:03:00.003-07:00

I was talking to my mom about these latest posts and she said I looked like Jessica Simpson...so here you go!

~Manda

Search continues...this one's for Marilyn

2010-01-30T13:50:00.000-07:00

I know you all know what Madonna looks like...but thanks to Marilyn, she is now on the list! hahahaha, I think I'm having too much fun with this! hahahahaha

~Manda

How could I forget Felicia?!

2010-01-30T02:29:00.001-07:00

Ok, it's rather late right now, and I'm in bed, almost going to sleep. I got home from work late and then I just had to watch the series finale of Dollhouse, so here I am, an hour and half after I got home from work, still awake.

I remembered something. It's about my previous post. There is one celebrity I think I'm like. She guest stared on Dollhouse, created the Guild, was Penny in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, and was one of the "potentials" in Buffy. She's Felicia Day, and I think I'm quite a bit like her...super white, geeky, big eyes, kind of awkward...now she is SUPER skinny (like scrawnily so) and I'm not, but tell me what you think. I still haven't found a real celeb look-alike, and that's alright, but if you find one, let me know...cuz that'd be pretty sweet! So here's Felicia Day!

So yeah, hope you all have an absolutely FABULOUS weekend...and I will actually go to sleep now. Adios!

~Manda

Search for my Doppelgänger!

2010-01-29T19:11:00.001-07:00

So, a lot of people have been posting their celebrity look-alikes on facebook. I've never really known if there's a celebrity who looks like me or not, so I decided to see if I could find that out. I put a bunch of pictures of me into a website and it compared them to different celebrities. It said to use multiple pictures and figure out which people match the most and those are your celebrity look-alikes. So, I wanted to share my results!

Camilla Belle was my most matched person. I thought that was pretty cool. She's one of the leads in one of my favorite movies, Push. In the movie she has the power to pretty much control people's minds (she's a pusher, hence the name of the movie) and with the help of a girl who can see the future, or a watcher (played by Dakota Fanning) and her ex-boyfriend who is telekinetic, or a mover (played by Chris Evans) they save the world...in a nut shell. I totally LOVE this movie. So, the fact that she's number one is very exciting!!!

#2's

For some reason I got matched with a lot of oriental people. This is Brenda Song. I think she's from the Disney Chanel show: the Suite Life of Zach and Cody, but I'm not sure

Clara Bow is from silent films...so that pretty much freaking rocks!!!

Julie Andrews!!!! K, that's AWESOME! Isn't she the greatest?! Awesome to look like her!!!

Kyoko Fukada is a Japanese model/actress. I really don't know much about her.

Norma Shearer was in movies from 1920-1942. And in my personal opinion, she had AWESOME style!!!

#3s

Gong Li is another actress from one of my favorite movies. She's pretty much one of the bad guys in Memoirs of a Geisha. (Told you there were a lot of oriental people...weird huh?)

Jennifer Connely is also an actress...I've never seen anything she's been in...but I found some awesome pics of her!

Karolína Kurková was a Victoria Secret model...pretty much, yeah.

Penelope Cruz...she's Penelope Cruz!

Preity Zinta is a Bollywood star...I guess I could in some lighting look almost sort of kind of in a way exotic...I got a lot of not just plain white people...and that's awesome!

#4's

(these all only had one match...there were a lot more, but these are my favorites!!!)

I totally and absolutely LOVE Alyson Hannigan!!!! She was in Buffy and is in How I met Your Mother...awesome, AWESOME shows. She's actually a redhead. She changed her hair color for HIMYM when her character left New York for a while to study art in LA....yeah....she's kind of awesome!

Angelina Jolie is also from one of my favorite movies (Mr. and Mrs. Smith)...She's kind of freaky, but she's way pretty!

Only the coolest, most awesome, best, funnest person to get to look like. She's the one that most people say I look like...and she is so totally my favorite!!!!! I freaking LOVE Audrey Hepburn!!!!

Beyonce...yeah, I know I'm not black, or oriental, or Indian, or any of the other ethnicities the program had me look like, but hey...awesome!!! She is gorgeous...and WOW, what a voice!!!

One of my favorite movies AND favorite TV shows. Charlize Theron was in the Italian Job and Arrested Development (she played a mentally disabled British girl in the latter...sooooo funny!!!!) Yeah, she's awesome!

Helena Bonham Carter was one of the first people the program said I looked like. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this woman. She is just that cool! I absolutely adore the way she acts and how totally CREEPY she can be...sooo cool!!!

Jessica Alba...Dark Angel, Fantastic Four, and voted the hottest actress multiple years in a row. Yeah, she's Jessica Alba.

Kristen Bell is another favorite!!! Veronica Mars, Heroes, and the voice of the mysterious Gossip Girl...she's pretty cool!!!

Liv Tyler is so, so awesome...it's crazy. (So many cool people!!!)

K, so I haven't seen her in a LOT of stuff, but she is in two of my favorite movies: Edward Scissorhands and Star Trek...and therefore, no question, she rocks!!!

So yeah, those are my celebrity look-alikes...well, some of them anyway. Pretty fun!

~Manda

Aren't dad's the greatest?!

2010-01-28T22:24:00.000-07:00

K, so I love my dad!!!

I've had a rather depressing type week. Things just are not going according to plan most of the time, but none of that mattered today...cuz I got to talk to my daddy!!!! I love him so so much! Talking to him made me feel like I'm the prettiest and the smartest, the coolest and the funniest...He made me feel so sure of myself, a normally common surety that I have been sorely missing as of late. Thanks dad!!!

Now, typically I don't listen to Country music. It's just not my favorite, but every once in a while you get a song, no matter the genre, that is just perfect! I found that song today on a mix that my roommate had playing in her car on our way to Walmart. So yeah, here's Rodney Atkins's Watching You...it's way sweet, you should listen to it, even if (like me) you don't typically listen to or even like Country.

~Manda

I freaking LOVE D.I.!!!!!!!

2010-01-28T19:26:00.000-07:00

I was bad and right after I deposited my latest paycheck I went straight to D.I. I seriously love some of the stuff you can find there!!! I bought glasses, a dress, a raincoat, shoes, and a few little $1 things. So, in the spirit of sharing, I've got pics...sweet!!!!

freaking SWEEEEET glasses!!!! My dad said that his dad used to have a pair just like them....awesome!!!!

Sorry it's on it's side...I'm too lazy to flip it. It's a little too wide for me and a little short, but it ties in the back and it looks really cute with jeans, so I might take the hem up a little more...maybe not.

This fits me like a glove...seriously...so cute! The sleeves are HUGE and they make me laugh a little...awesome color too!!!

I LOVE these!!! They are sooooo comfy and so totally cool!!

So yeah, that's what I scored at D.I.....I was pretty pleased with myself. So yeah, wonderful, wonderful day!!!

~Manda

"The Unpostable Post"...but awesome!

2010-01-26T21:38:00.001-07:00

WHY is this here?! Only cuz it's awesome!!!

Ok, so the description came from "the unpostable post"...I wrote it at the end of last semester at my most hopeless moment, so most of the post is extremely depressing and that's why I've never posted it. But to get myself out of my crazy sad spiral of sadness I told myself to write the future I really saw myself having, the one that I wanted more than anything. I talked a little about my house. I stopped right in the middle of what my wedding would be like. I LOVE planning my future home and wedding. It's pretty much my favorite. So, this is a little personal (not in a bad way), but yeah, here's my future:

I want a red brick house with shutters. Two stories with a white wrap around porch and a balcony. Nothing too big cuz I want a yard that practically swallows my house and fruit trees and climbing trees. A gravel driveway up the right and a little one car garage. I want a Jeep Wrangler instead of a minivan and Converse at my wedding. I want a white picket fence and sunflowers lining the front porch of my house. I want a back porch that I can have barbecues on and grass that is so lush and so flat that I can roll around on it with my husband and my kids. I want to wear dresses and heels and beads. I want to have cool hair and a rocking body. I want at least 3/4 kids, probably more. I want a very low maintenance yard with a small garden that always grows (that's the only thing I can't really see me being able to do). I want to teach my kids piano lessons. I want to have prints of my favorite works of art throughout my house. I want lots of color everywhere, almost obnoxiously so. I want a house that my kids will think of as the coolest house ever. I want absolutely no tan anywhere!!! I want red kitchen appliances, a red washer and dryer. I want a laundry chute. I want stairs that I can take pictures of my kids in their formals for school on. I want to live in the midwest in a small town....away from UTAH!!!!! I want my wedding to have a dance and no line, not very much food, a TON of pictures in a million different frames of famous couples throughout time. I want a rose a daisy and a sunflower on each table tied together with either twine or a black ribbon. I want those same colors in my bouquet. I want a simple dress with no lace or beads, a little ribbon and I want it to have three quarter length sleeves and a big bow in the back and a high-waisted, high-collar jacket that cris-crosses across the front to wear in the temple. I want white heels for the temple, red for the pics, and converse for the reception. I want pierced ears. I want cool hair! I want to be able to do all my decorating including the table arrangements, the bouquet, the cake, the set up...and I want to do them without professional help. I want to make my own playlist. I want disposable cameras on the 3-5 tables that I'll have on the opposite end of the dance floor. I want a guest book full of color with people signing their names with sharpies of all colors. I want...

(k, not the dress I was talking about AT ALL, but I thought it was pretty)

So yeah, it ends there. I do know all the other stuff I want, but I don't have time to write it all down (it's not a ton of stuff, I just love the details). So, that's the future those pictures were depicting. (And as of recently I have pierced ears and cool hair....sweeet!)

~Manda

A matchbox of our own, a fence of real chainlink....Somewhere that's green...

2010-01-26T20:57:00.000-07:00

So I was reading an unpublished blog about my future...I described my house a little. I tried finding pics of what I wanted and couldn't really find any, but these are kinda close. So...Welcome to my home!

My house (but think red brick!)

My living room (navy blue and white...heck yes!!!)

My kitchen (yellow with red accents and appliances...soooo freaking homey it's ridiculous!)

My bedroom (k, so it's not exact, but I want a four poster bed, lots of black and white, and lots of colorful pictures...prolly not the Beatles...sorry guys!)

Boy kid's room

Girl kid's room

My bathroom (but think white instead of yellow and Coca Cola themed wall hangings!)

My dining room (red...supposedly it makes you think of food...and it's soooo pretty!!! But I want more white!)

Future me! (yes, I WILL be the perfect housewife!!!)

Cool stuff you won't find in my house

(this looks like the kind of room Marie Antoinette slept in!!)

(it's a bed behind all that bookshelves!!)

Finally: First Voice lesson of the Semester!!!

2010-01-25T09:45:00.001-07:00

So I finally had my first voice lesson of the semester at 8:00 this morning...now, that's really early. Granted, I was at school everyday at 8 last semester, but I have two days that start at 10, and two that start at 9 this semester...and let me tell you, it is BLISS!!!! I love starting school later!!!!! Sure, you don't get done with school as fast when you start later, but you do get more sleep...and it is soooo nice! But, it was really good voice lesson, especially considering that due to recently being sick half the time I open my mouth to sing no sound comes out, or it's really breathy. (I seriously CANNOT WAIT to be healthy again!!!) And now I have a whole list of vocal work for this week...sweeeeet!!!!!

So I've been working on dressing nicer. I'm hoping it might help me in my endeavor to lose weight. I've had a very difficult time keeping my weight down for winter, but that is NOT going to stop me! I will lose weight, you mark my words!!!!!

So yeah, my next class is in 17 minutes and I still have a few things to do before I head on over there. So that's gonna be all I write today. Love you all!

~Manda

Just some...stuff

2010-01-24T14:43:00.005-07:00

So I cut my hair again. It's really short this time... A-line, so it looks a lot longer from the front. I can't even get this haircut into pig tails. I love it tho. It takes a while to get used to some haircuts, but I'm kinda loving the nearly constant change I've been giving my hair. I think I even prefer short hair to long...maybe.

I've just been thinking a lot...you know, in between the times that I'm not so busy my head is spinning. I'm grateful I don't have a car, because transportation (ie walking/ bus taking) gives me a lot of time to think. Well, back to my point, I've been thinking a lot about the way I express (or don't express) emotion and stuff. (I think and talk about myself too much, but that's besides the point.) I've recently realized that I'm not the greatest at actually expressing my feelings. Intense emotion, sure, but otherwise, not so much. We had this activity in my opera workshop where we had to act out certain emotions, and I just got so confused. Nearly all my emotions were small and internal more than external. I realized that I don't really act surprised, grateful, loving. I just sort say those things. My words better communicate how I feel than do my actions (unless I'm angry/sad or happy...those I can do). I'm not sure what I'm trying to say, but...for instance, when I want to be reassuring, I'm not completely sure how to go about it. Sometimes people just want you to sit and listen, but am I any good at that? No, not really, I'm good at doing and talking...getting your mind off of things. And when I'm super grateful for something, like a present, I don't always know how to appropriately show my gratitude. I say thank you, but with how easily distracted I get the gifter might not believe me. But I don't lie, I am honestly truly grateful...and I occasionally go overboard with gratitude, or sympathy, or surprise, and then I talk too much and people look at me weird. Ok, now I have no idea what my point was originally....hahahahaha, oh well, must've not been that important if I can't remember it...hahahahahaha.

So yeah, church was awesome today. We had ward conference. It was wonderful. In sacrament meeting our bishop told this great story that I'd like to share.

When he was a little boy, about four years old, he LOVED Neapolitan ice cream. One day he asked his mom if he could have some and she said no. He proceeded to the next room to push his two year old sister to the ground to get back at his mother, and then he ran out the door toward the forest knowing how much trouble he'd be in for doing that. He jumped the fence behind his house, passed the very full summer creek, and ran into the trees to hide. After a while he could see his parents coming out of his house starting to look for him. Knowing he was in trouble he went further into the forest so that he couldn't be seen, but he never lost sight of his house, knowing that in doing so he would most likely get lost. Soon more members of his family began to look for him, he hid even better. He did NOT want to get in trouble for pushing his sister, because that would me he would get no Neapolitan ice cream. His parents got the neighbors involved. Everyone was looking everywhere. They looked all around the fence, the very full summer creek, and the forest, and this really scared him. There's no way I'm going to get any ice cream, he thought as he further improved his hiding spot. After a while he saw all the people gather in his yard, everyone was just standing there talking. Seeing everyone standing in the hot sun put him in the mood for some ice cream, so he decided to head home, hoping his punishment wouldn't be too severe, and ask his mom for some yummy Neapolitan ice cream. After leaving the forest, passing the very full summer creek, jumping over the fence. He ran to his mother who wrapped her arms around him, an action that confused him. Then she sat down on the steps, exhausted, and told him that she loved him, now he was really confused! The two of them went inside and she gave him a big bowl of Neapolitan ice cream.

My bishop went on to say that this story is a great illustration of God's love for us. Many times we do something wrong and, knowing that its wrong, run away from home. And then when we see the rescue party searching for us in behind the fence and in the very full summer creek, we only hide further. So there we are, afraid of getting chastised, hiding in the trees, meanwhile our friends and family are afraid we have fallen into the very full summer creek and are gone. After a while, once we've realized that the reward is greater than the punishment we head on home, and instead of punishment we are greeted with loving arms, an exhausted but happy search party, and a big bowl of Neapolitan ice cream.

I just loved that sweet story, and I thought you might enjoy it too. It's really helped me figure out a few things that have been going on in my life, so yeah. Hope you all had good Sundays! Love you all!

~Manda

P.S. So yeah, the pictures? No, I'm not trying to be Narcissistic, I just had some fun with my webcam after church.

My EFY counselor interview

2010-01-22T09:00:00.002-07:00

So yesterday I was interviewed to be an EFY counselor. It was so incredibly exciting and probably the funnest interview process I've ever heard of. First I went into a room with nine other people in it. There we were supposed to fill out name tags and some information about ourselves, get to know each other, and as a group create an ice breaker game.

After this we were led to another room where we were split into two groups and given a scripture mastery scripture. From this scripture we were to come up with company names, company goals, what we would want our EFY kids to remember from our name, and what we would want other groups to think of. My group got D&C 8:2-3. We talked about different company names that could inspire remembrance of the power of the spirit of revelation. We ended up using "Red C" (a name I came up with) to symbolize when Moses parted the Red Sea, but also the red was to help remember heart and mind and that they must both be open to receive revelation and they must be in agreement to use it, and C was for commitments and decisions, because in high school (which is the age all EFY kids are, but also college, which is the age of the counselors) you make so many life-changing and important commitments and decisions. Our main goal we had for the kids was prayer. We wanted them to be able to have at least one meaningful prayer a day. We came up with a few ideas of how they could go about doing that: pray on your knees, say a prayer completely of thanks, say a verbal prayer, write out the things you would like to talk to Heavenly Father about before you started to pray, spend time before and after praying to open your heart and mind to the Spirit.

We were then each individually given a topic to teach a one minute lesson about. We were given 7 minutes to prepare. My topic was on Dress and Grooming as outlined in the For the Strength of the Youth pamphlet. (I luckily had copy with me and was able to use it as a resource.) For my lesson I focused on mainly the respect we show ourselves, others, and our Heavenly Father from dressing properly.

After preparing our lessons we were taken to another room to present our lessons. Before we were to teach we were put back into our groups to create a cheer with our company name. We were given about 10 minutes to do this, so we brainstormed for a little bit and ended up using one of the things I had said in passing (yeah, the fact that I was just saying it for no real reason was a little embarrassing). So we sang ours (naturally, it was a song.) "We can 'C' clearly now the water's gone, there are no more obstacles in our way -- Go Red C!" So as we sang it we acted out Moses parting the Red Sea (yeah, kind of lame...but oh well).

Finally we were able to teach our lessons. We were timed to keep us all at one minute. It was hard, because these were all topics that we loved and wanted to be able to share that love we had for them. But it was amazing to be able to hear the testimonies of all these people I had never met before. Everyone there was absolutely incredible. There was such a spirit of unity and comradery that was so uncharacteristic of a job interview. You could tell that everyone in that room hoped that everyone else could also be an EFY counselor. There was no feeling of competition. Everyone just wanted everyone else to look good, and that was evident by the way the lessons were taught. It was surprising, but even though everyone's topic to teach was different, nearly everyone brought elements of other's lessons into their own. I found it absolutely fascinating.

After we gave our mini-lessons we were each asked a question about something in relation to EFY. The answers were as impressive as the lessons. I don't exactly remember everyone's questions and answers but the spirit I felt in that room was astounding.

My question was "what do you think the hardest thing is facing teenagers today?" It seemed more like the type of question you would get in a class as an essay topic, but I had only a minute to answer it. I said that it was probably their own futures. I was of course thinking about my own life, and that one thing seems to always be at the back of my mind whether I was a Sophomore at Orem High that was worried that I wouldn't make it through high school, standing giving my graduation speech at UCAS, already in possession of a college degree, let a lone a high school diploma, making the choice between attending BYU or UVU, or now, rounding the corner to attaining my BA degree, preparing for a mission, and wondering what on Earth I'm going to do with my life, my biggest obstacle had been my future. So that's what I said. I told the interviewer that even though teens have a million different things thrown at them daily, and a million different decisions to make, the mystery of what the future holds in store for them is a tremendously difficult thing to face. She then followed up the question by asking me how I would be able to help them if they came up to me and asked me for support/guidance. I said that I would listen to what they had to say and then relate to them times in my life where I have had similar problems...I mostly said that cuz it's exactly what I do anyway.

After the little interview we all went home (one of the girls I was interviewed with was kind enough to offer me a ride home). I just wanted to share that with you all. I thought it was so incredibly fun and such an amazing spiritual experience.

~Manda

My talk :)

2010-01-16T21:36:00.002-07:00

So I am speaking tomorrow in Sacrament meeting and I had been struggling with the talk all week. I generally just make up an outline and give my talk from that, but it wasn't working. I decided to just start writing and see where that got me. All the pieces started falling into place and before you know it, I had a whole talk written. It's not perfect, and it's not completely cohesive and it doesn't make total sense (it's kinda choppy), but after how much I've worked on it, I'm proud of it and I believe that it says what I want it to say (more or less). So, here you have it: the first ever completely written out Sacrament meeting talk by Amanda McClellan. Enjoy!

~Manda

In the recent October Conference President Uchtdorf spoke on the love of God. He was not the only one to speak on love; Elder Bednar, when he mentioned expressing and showing love, Elder Oaks, speaking on love vs. law, President Eyring, mentioning how love is our motivation to do what is right, and President Monson, as he talked about how we must love and serve one another, all mentioned love in their talks. I remember listening to and attending conference and feeling as though the theme of it was love. I was excited to be given President Uchtdorf’s talk as a topic because he seemed to focus most on my personal theme of the October 2009 conference, love. When the Savior was asked which commandment was the greatest he responded saying that it was loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind. The title of President Uchtdorf’s talk, “the love of God”, can be seen in different ways: our love for him, and his love for us.

Before we are able to love God we should know the reasoning behind it. President Uchtdorf explained why we need to love God like this:

“God does not need us to love Him. But oh, how we need to love God!

For what we love determines what we seek.

What we seek determines what we think and do.

What we think and do determines who we are—and who we will become.”

He explained that “love has been the source of both the highest bliss and the heaviest burdens. At the heart of misery…, you will find the love of wrong things. And at the heart of joy, you will find the love of good things. And the greatest of all good things is God.” He later quoted 1 John 4:19 “We love him because he first loved us.”

After recognizing why we need to love God we must find out how we should go about doing that. In John 14:15 we read the Saviors declaration that if we love the Lord we must keep his commandments to show it. This statement can be much easier said than done. Many people tend to complicate the commandments believing that if it is a good idea that has worked for one person, it should then be what is expected of all. After a while these “good ideas” cause eternal principles to be lost. The Savior recognized this same problem in his time and simplified all the “shoulds” and “should nots” with one small word: love. Focusing on loving God and loving out neighbors allows us to be able to become true disciples of God and therefore show that we love him.

God’s love is perfect, it is holy, pure, indescribable, and more, it is infinite. He loves us completely even though we are incomplete. He does not care about where we live, how we look, the amount of money we may or may not have. God loves those of us who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sad, and broken, as well as those of us who are proud, selfish, arrogant, and wicked. God’s love for us allows all of us, regardless of our current state, to hope. It doesn’t matter where we are in life, God has made it possible that the closer we are to him, the closer he will be to us.

Knowing that God loves us is not always enough. Because we are only human we need proof. God reaches out to us constantly, so the proof that we want can be obtained simply by seeking it. Our Heavenly Father speaks to us everywhere. He speaks to us through scripture, talks given at General Conference, the temples, our Church meetings, the hymns. He also speaks to us through nature, our interaction with others, and even through things as simple as laughter.

I have seen God’s love through many things in my life, but as I was preparing this talk there were specific instances that stuck out in my mind. I am a vocalist studying at UVU and I have a great love for art and art history. I have learned through my studies that God can speak to us through composers, music we listen to, and performances that we are able to participate in. Music seems to have been one of the great ways that God has shown his love to his children since the beginning of time. I have felt God’s love while listening to and singing all different kinds of music. I have also felt God’s love while learning about and observing different pieces of art. I had the opportunity to go to the MoMA in New York and whether or not it was because God knew I loved it, or because I recognized his love of the art or the love he had for the artists that created it, I felt God’s love for me as I went from room to room, from floor to floor, from piece to piece. I know God loves me for countless reasons, but he shows me through, among other things, music and art.

We need to not only listen but to be able to more acutely recognize his love, we must increase our love for him. In 1 John 4:8 we learn that “God is love.” This means that the closer we are to God the more we are able to love. God seems distant at times, but in Jeremiah 29:13 it tells us “Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

Seeking God with all our hearts means that we must do more than just offering a quick prayer or occasionally allowing him into our lives. We need to align our thoughts and actions with God’s word. We must keep his commandments, not begrudgingly, but lovingly. He is pure and holy and to increase our love for him we must be pure and holy as well.

We will stumble at times, but we must not let that bring us down. The first step in aligning ourselves with God is to try. President Uchtdorf said this on trying:

“We must try to believe. Try to learn of God: read the scriptures; study the words of His latter-day prophets; choose to listen to the Father, and do the things He asks of us. Try and keep on trying until that which seems difficult becomes possible—and that which seems only possible becomes habit and a real part of you.”

As members of the Church we are held in a certain light among those who are not members of our church. President Uchtdorf said,

“Most people think of [members of the Church] as honest, helpful, and hardworking. Some have images of clean-cut missionaries, loving families, and friendly neighbors who don’t smoke or drink. We might also be known as a people who attend church every Sunday for three hours, in a place where everyone is a brother or a sister, where the children sing songs about streams that talk, trees that produce popcorn, and children who want to become sunbeams.

“Brothers and sisters, of all the things we want to be known for, are there attributes above all others that should define us as members of His Church, even as disciples of Jesus Christ?

…

“Let us be known as a people who love God with all our heart, soul, and mind and who love our neighbor as ourselves. When we understand and practice these two great commandments in our families, in our wards and branches, in our nations, and in our daily lives, we will begin to understand what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus the Christ.”

I once had a stake president who said that the plan of happiness is just a big love story. I believe that is true, not only in the sense that we have been sent here to ultimately find our eternal companion, but we are here to love. We have been commanded to love God, our fellow man, and ourselves.

I love God and I have felt his love throughout my life. I know that if I allow God in my life, if I study my scriptures more, visit the temple more often, align my ways with his that my capacity to love him and to feel his love will increase. [Testimony]

Steady diet of sickness, school, and most importantly Chuck!!!

2010-01-09T11:47:00.004-07:00

Ok, if you all don't know this about me, I really dislike being sick...like a whole lot!!!!!! It's so utterly pointless! I mean, sure, if it doesn't kill you then it makes your immune system stronger, but come ON!!!! I've been living off of cough drops and soup for about 3 days now and all it's done is gotten worse! (I've also become completely addicted to peanut butter m&m's....maybe they made me sick...naw, they're so delicious, they could never be evil! hahaha)

On happier notes, I am SO excited for this semester. It's my last and I am in some AMAZING classes!!!! I got into chamber choir again (see cough, you tried hard, but FAILED!!! bahahaha) And I'm in opera workshop again, and this semester we get to work on German (woohoo!!!) I'm SUPER excited for my art and music history classes, they are gonna ROCK!!! My other classes are ok too, but those are the ones I'm excited for!

And very exciting news from TV-land...Chuck comes back TOMORROW!!!! With a 2 hour special and the next episode airing the next day!!! So, three episodes of Chuck-styled goodness in a two day period! Man, life is good!!!!!

So, that's all that's going on with me...I think I'm gonna take some more meds, drink something hot, and get back in bed, cuz I feel disgusting!!!!! See ya'll later! Love ya!

~Manda

Mission...yikes! (but in a good way)

2010-01-07T16:32:00.003-07:00

So, ever since I made my tv blog (mandastv.blogspot.com) I've stopped really paying attention to this one! I'm sorry my humble readers! My life has just been on the rather mundane side lately. I haven't been on cool adventures or had cool dreams and all my time and energy are focused on school, church, work, and my other blog (and yes, generally in that order). I just keep thinking about my mission lately...And aside from the obvious thoughts of eager, terrified, anticipation I keep coming across this one thought: it's gonna be a year and a half without TV...wow! If I didn't know I was going to be working hard and being all missionary-y I don't think I'd believe I could do it...but I do believe I can. I wonder what I'll be like when I come back. Will I still love tv the way I do? Art? Music? Will I still be on my life search of trying to be an adult while at the same time not losing childlike curiosity and innocence? I just keep thinking of the person I'll be after a mission. I'll probably be the same, just better, yeah, that's probably exactly who I'll be.

K, I'm gonna go now, cuz I'm freezing and I still have a bedroom to finish cleaning. But yeah, if you like tv you should check out my other blog and let me know what you think...but only if you think it's cool, I don't think I'm ready to be receiving harsh criticisms quite yet. See ya!

~Manda

Finals, Juries, and Christmas

2009-12-11T14:29:00.003-07:00

It's that time of year again. The most wonderful time! The time of finals and juries, of concerts and solos, the time where I look more forward to going home than at any other time in my life. It's the end of the semester and I get to go home in 5 days! I'm so happy. Now off to sing the songs I don't know as well as I should with the voice that I'm losing...wish me luck!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

2009-11-26T22:46:00.004-07:00

Image from here

Ok, so today has been awesome! I love my family. I can't believe I forget that. They are amazing people, and the older I get the more I realize that. I just love them so much. Thanksgiving has been so much fun! I got to eat AMAZING food (and the house still smells like all of it! yum!) I got to sing AND hear all my cousins with their amazing musical talents! Oh, it was just so much fun! I got to go to grandma's house...one of the greatest places on Earth!!!!! I just love all of it! This Thanksgiving has been great!!!

~Manda

Guh...life

2009-11-17T23:38:00.003-07:00

So there are times that I just want to drop out of school and just coast! I wish I could just automatically have my dream job, have done the things I wanted to, met the people I want to meet....sometimes life goes too much of a mix of slow and fast! I guess I'm just feeling this way because I missed school and work today (due to complications with a recent toe surgery I had, no worries, I'm fine, and I won't go into details...that gets a little gross). I'm just stressed! Like really! I honestly can't wait for school to be over and life to start...but in these moments of stress/boredom it feels like it's never gonna happen! Gah! Well, if I go on, I have a feeling that this blog will just get more and more depressing, and that's not cool, so I guess I'll stop with the complain-y-ness.

A lot of stuff has happened lately (a lot of drama from a lot of people mostly) but life is still good...I'm just trying to get through it right now. But on a happier note Shuey, Kimberlie and I went up Provo Canyon last night to see the meteor shower. We all had to get up early and it was really cold so we didn't stay long, but we saw a bunch of shooting stars and a couple of the really cool flying fiery ones. IT was pretty much a blast!

So, that's all...I'm way tired and really need to finish this analysis that's due tomorrow that I've hardly started before I can go to bed...so...bye!

~Manda

Feminism at it's finest! haha...or something like that

2009-11-13T09:28:00.004-07:00

Signatures and momentum for a cause
Thu, 11/12/2009 - 19:56
Photo by Stephanie Rhodes. Jordan Cook signs a petition for the Women’s Research Institute after talking to Allison Barnes.
By Anna Young and McKay Coppins
About 20 demonstrators gathered outside the JFSB Thursday to distribute information and gain momentum in what they call the fight for women’s studies at BYU.
Participants gathered signatures for a petition proposing the formation of a Women’s Research Council to replace the recently dissolved Women’s Research Institute. By late afternoon, organizers said they had gathered about 1,300 signatures.
Sara Vranes, who organized the “information blitz,” said she was willing to concede the removal of the WRI on the condition that the university maintain some entity that houses interdisciplinary women’s research. If no action is seen, Vranes said she would continue to fight for her cause.
“We’re doing this to grab the attention of the administration,” Vranes said. “If their attention isn’t grabbed, then something else might happen.”
Vranes declined to comment on the possibility of an on-campus protest.
BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said the university has made no final decisions about the implementation of a Women’s Research Council, but said, “It’s certainly something we’ll look into.”
Thursday’s demonstration was intended primarily to be a source of information for uninformed students, but the university took issue with some of the text in the demonstrators’ original flyers.
Under the headline, “How will closing the WRI affect women’s research here at BYU?” the flyer included a list of four arguments. One of them claimed there were questions about the final allocation of the WRI Endowment Fund.
Jenkins said the elimination of the WRI and reorganization of resources has actually resulted in a dramatic increase of funds available to women’s research on campus. She also said the WRI Endowment Fund will be used entirely for the women’s studies minor and related research grants.
“It’s going to be hard for me to believe that until I see it implemented over the next couple of years,” said Vranes, who worries that the funds will be given to the School of Family, Home and Social Sciences and not specifically the women’s studies minor it now houses.
Vranes said she agreed to hand out a simpler flyer without the questionable claims, but students throughout campus who were not directly related to the demonstration were seen handing out the original flyers.
Several people involved in the demonstration said they were worried that with the termination of the WRI, the country has lost the only research center that studies women’s issues through a gospel lens.
Some also said it would poorly reflect on the church.
“I completely disagree with the decision to dissolve the WRI,” said Heidi Doggett, a BYU graduate and contributor to the “Feminist Mormon Housewives” blog. “The church is already being hit hard by bad press, and this is just going to make it worse.”

I love my roommates! Recently the Women's Research Institute at BYU (the WRI) has been dissolved. Allison (my roommate) has been quite the supporter of saving the WRI and I LOVE it!!! I wish I could be more help in this cause, but I don't go to BYU, so that makes things rather difficult. But it's cool, she posted a link to this article on facebook....and yup, that's her in the picture! (My roommate is famous!!! Awesome!) So yeah, this article...it's from the BYU newspaper.

The original article can be found here

Big Giant Prayer of Thanks!!!

2009-11-11T14:03:00.002-07:00

I'm so full of gratitude right now! Yesterday I was starting to get that end-of-semester-panic type freak out. I went to school, after that I practiced the piano for an hour, then I went home, got a little homework done, headed back to school for a voice lesson, realized that I should have all my pieces memorized right now, but I so don't! Then I had to get a few things done at school so I missed my bus twice and realized that there was no way to finish all I had to do and go to work, even if it was for a couple hours. I was then extraordinarily blessed when Kris actually answered his phone and said he could take my shift at work. Right around that same time Shuey offered me a ride back to my apt and then he and Kimberlie asked me if I would join them in going to Taco Bell. Then I was able to get soooo much homework done (still need to do some writing, reading, analysis, piano, and memorization...but it's a lot less then what I had to do yesterday!) I was then able to get to sleep at 12!! yay! And then today I woke up late, but my first class was canceled, so no worries! I got to school in time for piano and the door to the classroom was open (and I had gotten there early) so I started practicing. The class slowly trickled in and after seeing my 6 pg Rondo that I had chosen to memorize instead of a 1-2 pg pedagogical piece like the pieces they had chosen a few students asked me to help them figure out chord progressions in B and E...and then I got to have another hour of uninterrupted practice. My teacher got to class when there were about 5 minutes left and she helped me with my fingering (it was so cool, cuz the whole class just stayed and practiced instead of leaving class early cuz the teacher wasn't there!!! awesome!) And then my next class was canceled so I was able to get even more homework done (although I didn't get too much done...it was nice to have a little break) and then I was able to stay wide awake all through choir! woohoo!!! After school I was able to spend some time with my roommate, Allison...oh my goodness, she is just so much fun! And boy can she sing!!!! I freaking love her!

So yeah, that my big giant prayer of thanks! Everything is just going so well! Not easy and flawless, but life is still going and I'm not too far behind! I just wanted to share all the little ways God has shown me he loves me! I need to hit my knees a little longer at night and actually express to him in more words this giant prayer of thanks that has been building up....cuz what I've written here isn't even half of it! So yeah...happy Thanksgiving (soon) to all! yay!

~Manda

2009-11-03T17:57:00.006-07:00

Ok...so a picture is worth 1000 words, right...so I won't say much...but it was Shuey's birthday today and Kimberlie and I got to plan kind of a party...it was a BLAST!!! Now, the pics are in reverse order...so to understand everything chronologically, go from the bottom up. Oh, aqnd just so you know, the big activity we planned was going to Target and taking random pics...so much fun!!! The other activity we planned was to go to a black and white photo booth and take pics...that was fun too! YAY! fun day!!!

K, Shuey took me up Rock Canyon to show me where he rock climbed...I saw this super orange tree and had to take a pic...wish the car wasn't in the way...dumb car anyway!!!
Kimberlie had no idea Shuey was following her with the snow shovel! so funny!!!
Kimberlie and I still crack up constantly every time we see this!!! hahahahahaha...it's just so funny!!!

yes yes, Yoda joined in the festivities! sweet!

Zebra print sunglasses?! Oh Kimberlie...they are perfect for her!!!
I ended up buying this hat! I totally LOVE it! Kimberlie (queen of all things animal print) insisted on the scarf...it made the pic!
Shuey and I found hats. When Kimberlie was taking the picture she told us to act like we knew each other...we both took a step back and looked nervously at each other...it was freaking hilarious!!! We think this would be a total classic pic if we had a better background!
Kimberlie is pretty much obsessed with all things zebra...This pic is one of our FAVORITES!!!
We found swords!
It looks posed...but it's totally candid! She was looking behind her to get Shuey to get in the picture.
Well, on Sunday Kimberlie and I looked through cake after cake online to figure out what to do for Shuey's cake. We were thinking Mac themed or dinosaur themed...but then we went to the store on Monday, saw the little kids Doctor set...we knew exactly what we had to do...he was gonna be starting clinicals for the nursing program soon so it was PERFECT! This pic doesn't really do the cake justice...it's two cakes high...devil's food cake...totally rich..totally yummy!!!
Ok, so this was on Halloween...I dressed up as Kaylee from Firefly (not really expecting anyone to know who that is, but if you do...you freaking ROCK!!!) and I had decided to make Shuey a hat that's also on the show, it belongs to the character Jayne (a guy who loves guns, knives, women...and this hat that he got in a care package from his mom). So I made it and I finished it on Halloween. I couldn't stand waiting so I gave it to him that night...it was super exciting!!! He got way excited when I gave it to him (he even said it was the best birthday present ever...yeah, it was pretty cool) but I think I may have gotten more excited...hahahahaha! Making presents is SO much cooler than buying them...it's official!

So, that's all. Super fun! I like having friends!!! yay!

~Manda

I freaking LOVE college life!!!!!

2009-10-30T07:33:00.003-07:00

Ok, oh my gosh is college fun or what!? I LOVE my classes, I love my friends (I occasionally love my homework! hahahaha) I love music and singing and everything! (I even love my job, regardless of how incredibly frustrating it is!!!) But lately I've really just been loving my friends! Now granted, I don't have a BUNCH of friends, but I do have two absolutely amazingly awesome friends! Last night Kimberlie and I really wanted to get out of the apartment and Shuey really wanted to get out of his house, so we started on our adventures! (hahahaha)

We decided to go to Target! So fun..I bought paper and Kimberlie bought school supplies...I know, exciting, huh?!

Well, then we went to Best Buy to check out DJ hero (weird game!!!). We saw the coolest kid (probably like 5 or something) with his brothers playing the Beatles Guitar hero...his two older brothers were playing it too, but the littlest one was doing the singing and although it embarrassed his brothers, he rocked...you could hear him throughout the whole store!!! Well, we got bored with DJ hero pretty fast...then we looked at washers, dryers, fridges, microwaves, stoves/ovens, and lots of other appliances that we couldn't wait to buy when we're rich. And then as we were about to leave we heard some awesome sound coming from somewhere, so we went to find it! The sound was coming from this little cubical with couches and two (awesome) TVs that were playing Transformers on a blu-ray player. The combination of the sound system and the picture was one of the most incredible things I've ever experienced in my many hours of media viewing! The picture was so clear and perfect and real it almost hurt to watch! It was AMAZING! I'd never really understood why people like blu-ray so much, but oh my GOSH!!!!!! It seriously felt like the characters could literally come out of the screen; like if I just reached through I could become part of the movie. I will NEVER wonder about people's obsession with blu-ray ever again...that was something to behold! WOW!!

So, after that we left Best Buy and didn't know where to go, but Kimberlie saw Jo-Ann's and she needed to buy some fabric for a shirt for her sewing class, so we went there. We found the COOLEST dragon fabric...their flames were sparkly!!! We found buttons and thread to match...and then we saw the line. We got a ticket and we got 00...they were on 63. We weren't too stoked about waiting.

And then I came up with the GENIUS idea of going to Coneys to get some custard while we waited (it was pretty much next door, and although it was freeeezing outside they liked the idea too!!!) So we went and got some custard (and my friend, Emily, was working and was the supervisor, so she told Spencer that it was ok to give me the discount even though I wasn't working...sweet! 50% off custard! Pays to be nice!!! hahaha) Then we went back to Jo-Ann's and they were only on 78/79...crazy! So we decided to look at pattern books, specifically costumes...it was fun! Then Kimberlie got her fabric all cut and bought and we were on our way, not sure of what to do again.

Shuey has been wanting to go bowling a lot lately, and I like bowling, but Kimberlie adamantly refused. But we ended up at Fat Cats anyway. Well, Kimerlie's childhood friend is coming up and needed a place to stay, so Kimberlie had been asking all her guy friends if he could stay with them, and Luke said yes. Well, he's been trying to hang out with her for a while, so she invited him to come bowling with us. It was so much fun, and after almost two whole games Kimberlie also invited Cody. (he is soooo tall and sooo big...but I'm a better bowler! YES!!!) So we ended up playing 4 1/2 games (we payed for unlimited bowling for the night, so we stayed till they closed) Oh my goodness....last night was so much fun!!!!

I totally freaking LOVE college life!!!! Staying up all night having fun, and then staying up all night studying, eating cheap food, never sleeping, loving school, getting so sick and tired of school... I love it all! It's the best, but right now my favorite part is my friend!!!!! They are so awesome!

(oh, side note: The three of us, after a 7-eleven hot chocolate run, decided to see if we could drive all the way around Utah Lake...that was quite an adventure, let me tell you!) So yeah, I totally adore my friends, and I hope everyone else does too, cuz they rock!!!

~Manda

Oh, P.S. I love pics on my blog, but I didn't have my camera last night (plus Kimberlie and Shuey don't like getting their pictures taken--lame) But hopefully in the future I'll have legit pics...cuz you know what they say: "pics, or it didn't happen!" hahahahahaha

Brief overview of the fun I'm having! yay!

2009-10-23T06:51:00.004-07:00

Ok, so last night was pretty much a blast!!! Just thought I'd let everyone know!

So Chamber Choir had a concert last night where we premiered one of Kurt Bestor's new pieces and got to have him conduct us. He is a freaking AMAZING conductor! It was way fun to follow him and learn a little more about what he wanted in the piece that he wrote! Yeah, that was fun!

After the concert Kimberlie and I made a plan to go get some hot chocolate from 7-eleven, but it was postponed by an invite from John and Nolan to hang out at the hot tub. I don't know how long we were hanging out with them (it was until we couldn't even tell it was cold outside...the hot tub got SO hot!!! hahaha) It was so much fun! I got to learn a phrase in Norwegian (where John served his mission.) It was kinda weird, for a while there were about 4 languages being spoken at the same time in the hot tub (one of which was Norwegian, John went on his mission to Norway, he was companions with Anders who had joined us a little later, and Nolan knew Norwegian, but I can't remember how). There were also two guys speaking Russian and then this group of kids saying phrases from a bunch of different places. Kimberlie and I were so lost, not being able to understand Norwegian (which, for some reason I think was possibly intentional)...but yeah, it was so much fun!!!

Well, after they left Kimberlie remembered that she needed to pick up her medication from the pharmacy. She was going to call someone (I can't remember if it was "freakin Luke" or Nolan) but she couldn't get a hold of him at any rate, so she called Shuey. He came and I was finally able to give him his motorcycle (I promised him one...it was a toy) and he took us to Walgreen's and we were finally able to make our 7-eleven hot chocolate run! yum yum yum!!! Then, cuz he didn't want to go home he just hung out at our apartment till they started booting/ticketing cars.

Then Luke came over...I don't know how long he and Kimberlie were hanging out cuz I went to bed...but yeah, in a nutshell, last night was a BLAST!!!

MONTEVERDI

2009-10-19T09:36:00.002-07:00

So, a few years ago I did a project on the similarities between opera and the Beatles. It was fun. Well, I did a lot of research on the origins of opera and I learned that the father or Opera was Claudio Monteverdi! We just got to him in my Music History and Lit class and I got soooo excited. Well, in the Renaissance the greatest composer was Josquin des Prez, a Franco Flemish composer. After (chronologically) Josquin, Monteverdi is the greatest composer! He was a great example of a transition composer (yes, like Beethoven) because he has a lot of Renaissance, he fathered the opera and opened the doors in the Baroque period, he also proved points of how good composers have different styles for different occasions (he started that idea pretty much!) Oh my goodness! I just LOVE Monteverdi!!! He freaking ROCKS!!! And we get to study him now!!!! YAY!!!!! Just thought I'd let y'all know! :)

~Manda

The Adventures of Miss Amanda

So...I'm leaving on a mission!

If my family were all played by actors in the movie of my life.

Mission Papers: Officially sent off and everything!

Cleaning Check Procrastination!

Happy Pioneer Day!!!

HAPPY 11th BIRTH DAY EVAN!!!!! YOU ROCK!!!!!

Long Day & The Ever Constant Job Search!

yaaaAAAaaawwwwnnn!!!! *long night!*

Happy official first day of summer!!!!

Just a little summer fun!

The Semester is OVER!!!!

How to Train Your Dragon = AWESOME!!!!!

YAY!!! I finished it!!!!!!!!!!

Opera performance...it's gonna be AWESOME! (so come!)

My future husband....kind of

Glee auditions are now open, and I'm trying out!

4T's concert opera video

A super quick (super sad and morbid) fairy tale!

Wish List

Wonderful St. Patty's, wonderful Spring Break!!!

I've got this song stuck in my head and it goes a little like this:

So much to do...so much to do!

Probably in too many words...but today was the BEST DAY EVER!!!

This video makes all of life better!!!

Drowning my sorrows in a pint of Moose Tracks

A great night of greatness

Huzzah...SUCCESS!!!!!

Phew! (well, I see that being said in the near future anyway)

Yet another new life plan: High School teacher

I love fashion blogs!!!

Pretty dress

Valentine pics!

IT"S FINALLY HERE...but it's over now

Shopping spree!!

Clothing idea "shopping" + shower = All good-mood-y now!!!

Dejected-feeling, tired, listless...it's just one of those days

A new favorite artist

My yesterday Adventure

The Princess and the Frog....and *sigh* Louisiana

Just a few of my favorite songs from when I was 9 and in Japan

A new favorite piece of art!!!

I Love Lucy!!!

Happy February!!!

DANNY!!!!! Happy Birthday Buddy!!!!

NEW CALLING!!!

Mom's vote

Search continues...this one's for Marilyn

How could I forget Felicia?!

Search for my Doppelgänger!

Aren't dad's the greatest?!

I freaking LOVE D.I.!!!!!!!

"The Unpostable Post"...but awesome!

A matchbox of our own, a fence of real chainlink....Somewhere that's green...

Finally: First Voice lesson of the Semester!!!

Just some...stuff

My EFY counselor interview

My talk :)

Steady diet of sickness, school, and most importantly Chuck!!!

Mission...yikes! (but in a good way)

Finals, Juries, and Christmas

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

Guh...life

Feminism at it's finest! haha...or something like that

Signatures and momentum for a cause

Big Giant Prayer of Thanks!!!

I freaking LOVE college life!!!!!

Brief overview of the fun I'm having! yay!

MONTEVERDI

yaaaAAAaaawwwwnnn!!!! long night!

The Princess and the Frog....and sigh Louisiana