Baseball, Road Trips, and Attractive Men

Oh hello! It's been a while.

{top ten}

1. Watchin' the World Series games with my friends was the bomb.com! 

I've never enjoyed baseball, until I met my next door neighbor, Mary Elizabeth, who is OBSESSED (understatement) with the Red Sox.

The baseball-fanatic wardies were kind enough to include me in their Red Sox watching parties, so I spent plenty of nights chillin' with them next door.

2. What do you see when you look at the following picture?

I see heaven in a cup.

Also known as rice atole!

My mom makes this every Fall for our family, usually around Halloween-time. The past couple years I've been at college, I've had to make it myself. My first attempt last year was.... well.....

Anywho, so my second attempt this year was MUCH better. It turned out so delicious. And I had friends to share it with this time too, which made it ten times better.

3. Halloween!

I always miss being able to be home with my family for Halloween. 

My mom always makes the best food, and my younger siblings always dress up so cute

(that only lasts long enough to take a picture, and then they turn into candy-hungry demons who relentlessly drag their older sister around the neighborhood in freezing temperatures until they can't possibly carry any more candy).

My Halloween this year basically consisted of this:

It was grand. 

I couldn't finish the movie though, because I had to go home and pack for my....

4. ROAD TRIP!!!

Yep, you heard me. I, Amanda Marie Brower, went on a spontaneous weekend road trip.

Where, you ask?

Well, I went home. But still, a spontaneous road trip nonetheless!

I wanted to surprise my mom for her b-day, and it all worked out so perfectly. 

So me and Meg spent Halloween night packing up all of our stuff, making "Road Trip/Boys are Dumb" cds, and getting snacks: salt and vinegar chips, mountain dew (only to keep me awake!), and nut rolls. All road trip staples.

I got off work Friday afternoon and we were on our way!

Surprising my mom when I got home was THE BEST.

She was flipping out so hard. I almost felt bad for scaring her.

{she kind of looked like this}

And then, even better, after she had calmed down a little bit, and as me and her and my dad were standing in the kitchen, I broke to them the exciting news....

5. I got into the Nursing Program!

Hallalujah, Michael row his boat ashore.

So we laughed and hugged a little bit more, 

and then Jeff came screaming upstairs and attacked me.

It was a perfect vacation.

And the next couple of days were full of many adventures, 

including but certainly not limited to:

watching Food Network until the wee hours of the night, going to a book signing, boot shopping, birthday dinner with the fam, and delicious, glorious, wonderful, homemade food.

6. 

This, ladies and gentlemen, is Martian Tyler Haws

(a.k.a. Tyler Haws, a.k.a. leading scorer on the BYU Men's Basketball team).

When me and Meg were driving home from Idaho Falls late (really late) Sunday night, we were stopped at a red light next to this kid.

One of us is going to marry him, so it was nice to see that he's a good driver.

He'll be able to keep our babies safe on our family vacations and stuff like that.

7. Fall in Provo is my FAVORITE. 

It's gorgeous- the sunsets on the mountains every night are just breathtaking. It's this time of year when I get the most homesick, so it helps that it's so beautiful here.

 

My nightly ritual consists of putting on a giant sweater and leggings, heating up my blanket in the dryer, and drinking hot chocolate. 

It's lovely.

8. Roomie date! 

A couple of nights ago me, Lauren, and Meg were all chillin' in the living room "studying" 

(more like complaining about studying). 

We decided to forget our homework and go get shakes. So we did. And we flirted with the cute cashier and it was awesome.

9. {listen}

{i like this song mainly for the part where they scream her name. it's sweet.}

10. {inspiration}

The past week I've been reading this talk by Elder Holland, 

and it has forever changed my life.

"Once there has been genuine illumination, beware the temptation to retreat from a good thing. If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now.

Don't give up when the pressure mounts. Don't give in.

Certainly don't give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness. He wants everyone to be miserable like unto himself.

Face your doubts. Master your fears. 

"Cast not away therefore your confidence."

Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold for you."

~Jeffrey R. Holland

And that is all :)

Have a lovely Sunday!

~Manda