Words of detailed intellect, nerdiness and randomnosities

Religious:

-Never let the needs of now crowd out the considerations of eternity." -Neal A. Maxwell

-"When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes out quest, in that moment God will instill us with power." -Ezra Taft Benson

….I had loved before, but I knew not why. But now I loved—with a pureness—an intensity of elevated, exalted feeling, which would lift my soul from the transitory things of this groveling sphere and expand it as the ocean….In short, I could now love with the spirit and with the understanding also" ~Parley P. Pratt

Funny:

-"Mormons are like cockaroaches. There are tons of them, the make lots of babies, and you can't get rid of them." -Stephannie Woods

-Girls that would have never done it did it. ~BHAB survey

Love:

-"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams" ~Dr. Seuss

-"We all want to fall in love. Why? Because that experience makes us feel completely alive. Where every sense is heightened, every emotion is magnified, our everyday reality is shattered and we are flying into the heavens. It may only last a moment, and hour, an afternoon. But that doesn't diminish its value. Because we are left with memories that we treasure for the rest of our lives."

-"True love is friendship caught on fire."

-Love is like pi - natural, irrational, and very important.

Movie:

-"Sir, I am president of the electronics club, the math club, and the chess club. Now, if there's a bigger nerd in here, please, point him out." ~Day After Tomorrow

~It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities" -Dumbledore

-"Can't eat. Can't sleep. Reach for the stars over the fence. World series kind of love." -It Takes Two

Song:

-I used to be love drunk but now I'm hungover ~Boys Like Girls

Spring Break 2010

For a long time now I've wanted to be one of those people who goes on trips with their friends. Where nothing is planned down to the exact second and you simply take off and have fun. I believe it's beginning to happen.

So you read that and think, "oh cute little Manna wants to loosen up and go take a break"

Well, I lied. Kind of.

I tell myself those things but my mind is obsessive. Obsessive! I want times and dates and schedules and math and science and busy busy busy. So for a week I tried this chillaxin stuff and let's just say I learned a few things but structure and schedules are welcome in my life.

I went to the land of California with some of my besties. Brianna, Sarah, Stephannie, anddd now Dana
Yes, Brianna and Stephannie are indeed sisters. In fact, they're twins. Straight up yo. Matching Harkins shirts and all.

Sarah took this lovely picture while flying through the air on the teacups. True Disneyland expression right there folks.

This picture..... it seems just like another cute "Oh I'm at Disneyland on the cute little teacups in the happiest place on the earth" picture. No. Some of us don't really appreciate the teacups as much as other things but this picture was necessary. You see there is this picture on Brianna's parents' fridge of a group of lovely young people sitting in a teacup smiling back at the camera. And then there is this chubby green blob also in the teacup that pierces my dignity each and every time I see it. Needless to say, this picture is for replacing the green blob with a shadowed face although the time when that will take place is not near in the future so I suppose I will have to continue relying on strategically placing magnets on the fridge.

Hello Splash Mountain!!! Probably on my top five list of most enjoyable rides this past trip. The soggy jeans for our remaining hours at Disneyland however were not. At all.

Apparently Sarah counted and we took something like 40 or 50 group pictures like this and the one seen above. Our trip was well facially documented. BTW I'm not sure that last sentence even made sense. But it sounded cool in my head. Another BTW-- That's not Brianna's hand covering her face.

Ever wish you'd stopped eating after your first full plate of food? Yeah.... sometimes I think that too. But having the victory of eating all of Denny's largest breakfast was most certainly worth it. Even if I did go on Tower of Terror directly following this.

As Brianna and Stephannie said, why the heck are we holding hands and why is it documented? That's what you get for bringing a photography major along. But truly, I love it. Just couldn't figure out for a while why I was a foot taller than them. Stupid unlevel sand. Entirely not my fault. Entirely.

An artistic picture by Sarah. Sarah: "Hold still" Me: "Are you taking a picture of my legs?" Sarah: "yeah it's a really cool shot" Me: "Okay." Super dramatic, right?

Brianna volunteered to take the picture 'cause she don't like no sand. Oh... and Dana's initials are forged.

Long day after California Adventure and the beach. Oh yeah. Check out my weirdy in the back. I figure I need to make a couple Brianna comments seeing as how laughing at her is usually how this blog rolls.

5 dog meat tacos and 2 smoothies later we were still in Jack-in-the-Crack. Oh and news flash: Jack is married. Don't worry his kid is not an illegit little boy. Ya can't see it but Jack is definitely wearing a gold wedding band in the picture. Something I found very odd.

Dana made fun of me. All I'm gonna say is hummingbird. NEver again.

Rides are so much more fun when you throw your hands up and scream. Or in Stephannie's case laugh obnoxiously until the situation is so stupid that you really are laughing.

Not even sure what this is about. No idea at all.

Car ride to Cali-- Yes that is a Mike and Ike and yes she did eat it afterwards. Yummmmmmm. Let's just say that I'm perfectly content not being in Sarah's car again for a while. Especially not with 4 other people and an ice chest for another million hours.

Touristy cutesy lovey dovey aw ain't that sweet group picture with a letter. And ya.... I am stepping on Dana. LOL

Sunset on the beach that I never got to witness fully. *grumble grumble grumble* Someday people. Someday.

Favorite part of the trip hands down captured in this very picture. Let's just say that Brianna and gerbils don't get along while she is sleeping. And young little Koko has a 6th sense about these things and loaned Brianna her very own hamster to sleep with. Close enough, righT?

Last thing I saw before leaving "The Happiest Place on Earth" (notice the quotations because I am not so agreeable with that statement). Brianna spotted this beauty for me and let's just say I wanted to buy one and loan it out to every guy I ever date again.

THEEEEEE END.

My Life. In the past couple months.

Well I hit that stage again where I almost feel slightly poor for not posting in a few months. Plus, I should be studying for my 5 upcoming tests. Hence, a new post :)

This post is in the opposite order of what would normally seem a proper way to organize a blog post but why stress over uploading photos in the correct order?

Section 1: Jimmy's baptism! Yes Jimmy was baptized almost 2 weeks ago now. Isn't that absolutely exciting?

This is my best friend. On the ride to Jimmy's she fashioned these intellectual goggles and threatened to wear them to the baptism. Probably would have fit in better since Jimmy wore socks and Chris wore shorts.

These are Sister Hancock and Sister Cottrell. World's coolest missionaries. Amazing women.
These are the weird little Mexican children that kept randomly running up to us and giving us hugs and jumping in pictures.
Brianna's father Randy Nelson baptized Jimmy. It was truly a beautiful baptism. Something that I would suggest for everyone at least once in their life.
Section 2: 54th Ward Snow Trip!

We started our search for snow in the Miami/Globe area. No bueno so we went to Pine. And of course, there was snow. We all met in the church parking lot and then headed up a side road and spent a few hours tubing down the hill.
While we were waiting at the church Tabitha and I built a snowwoman. My first. It was a tender moment.
The snow was sticky and you could actually make a huge snow ball by just rolling it around on the ground. Just like in the movies. Coolest thing ever.
This is Shanel. She is special with her little head and hairy chest.
Me and Jimmy
I like this picture of Tabitha simply because she looks absolutely evil.
See the mittens Tabitha is sporting? Best things ever and I let her wear them the whole time so her wittle fingers wouldn't freeze.
Nature's water cooler.
Byron had his brotherly talk with Jimmy. Nobody died. *Sigh of relief*
Section 3: San Francisco.

These pictures are all over the place. Some in order. Some I stole off of Facebook. Some.... well I don't really know what else.

I went with the Barrett Honors College on one of their Great American Cities trips to San Francisco over the break from Jan 13th-17th.

This is Jill. Our leader who we followed around like lost children. This picture was taken in the Aquarium of the Bay where they have 2 water tunnels you walk through.

This is my group. 12 of us including our 2 leaders: Jill and Jen. 4 boys: Michael, Sal, Dustin, and Ryan. 6 girls: me, Risa, Kathy, Chelsea, Chelsey, and Gitzel. Behind us in the picture is the California Academy of Sciences. Basically the coolest museum I have ever been to.
Wonder what this is? If you make an educated guess I may tell you. It's definitely important though.
We stopped by the state capital one day and talked with the treasurer.
This is Jose. He is gay.
I'm 99% sure that this is supposed to be a purposefully funny picture. Maybe I missed the memo that it wasn't or honors students just don't know how to be funny.
We rode a double decker around one day and because we're special the bus driver stopped for us in front of the capital and took a picture. I think they told us that the dome is the 5th biggest one in the world or something. Around the size of the U.S. capital or St. Pauls.
Riding through a tunnel on the top of an open double decker bus while holding your breath and then turning to see that Risa is doing the same? Epic moment.
Our last day in San Francisco was left open to do whatever we wanted so most of us biked the bridge.
Another group photo while stopped at the Golden Gate Bridge on our bus tour.
For my birthday we went to Hard Rock Cafe and I ordered the nachos appetizer which could take years to finish so I just kept picking at it until everyone else was done eating. We were were finally ready to leave the waitress brought out ice cream for me and said that she thought I was never going to stop eating. As seen here, my ice cream was appreciated.
Back to the California Academy of Sciences: this is in the 4 story rainforest inside. Awfully humid and warm but very cool.
We spent a good deal of time in Fisherman's Wharf which is right next to Fort Mason where we stayed in a hostel. This area had some good cheapER food.
We found this shop that has tons of autographed movie posters and other memorabilia. I'm disappointed in myself that I was not pointing at the bottom poster in the picture.
Risa and I went to the Conservatory of Flowers and I am in love with this picture and the perfect detail of the flower I captured. I just wish that stupid woman was not in the background.
This is up on the top of Telegraph Hill by Coit tower. Beautiful view of the city.
We went out for Italian food one night. I ordered the pasta with the most seafood in it. It was interesting.
We stopped by Ghiradelli square one night. I was told the hot chocolate was to die for. So I tried some. I still dislike hot chocolate.
This is the water tunnel underneath the 4 story rainforest. The woman taking the picture captured the giant fish well. I'm not sure about her other 5 subjects.
GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE. 'nuff said.
This is the rooftop of the California Academy of Sciences. It's supposed to be covered with flowers but sometimes January can cause problems in that area. I kept waiting for a baby sun to shine and Teletubbies to pop out of the hills and start making cooing noises and giggling.
This is my favorite picture that I took in the Conservatory of Flowers. Most of the plants there were tropical plants that I've never seen in real life before.

This is the gangster tunnel we found when we were wandering around looking for a shortcut. Can't you see a gang meeting there on a dark foggy night?

Well gay Jose suggested a Mexican restaurant and I have to say that boy knows of a good place to eat. Best Mexican food I have had in my entire life. And trust me, I've had a lot.
When we were riding bikes over to the bridge we stopped on this pier and lots of people "fish" for crabs there. Most of them are crazy little orientals though but we found some students our age who were researching the crabs and talked to them for a while.
Gotta say I kind of like this picture.
Half way across the bridge looking back on San Francisco.
This was on the sidewalk half way across the bridge. Just the head. Nothing else. I'm still confused.
Well we made it the 9 miles or so from the bike shop to the other side of the bridge and most of us decided to keep on riding into Sausalito and catch the ferry back so we rode the remaining miles there and got some ice cream and then rode the ferry back to Fisherman's Wharf.
I found this sign while waiting for the ferry. Made me laugh.
When we got back to Fisherman's Wharf Risa and I got some lunch and took pity on this deformed seagull and fed it extra food.
The ferry ride back. The boys ditched us for the football game once we got off the ferry though. It was okay with me.
After we ate Risa and I went looking for the Exploritorium Museum which we knew was by this place, the Palace of Fine Arts or something like that. Turns out that the buildings are connected. The YMCA desk clerk informed me of that.
The Exploritorium is a science museum that has a lot of exhibits for just one or two people at a time. This exhibit was in discussion of your mind and how most people won't drink out of the drinking fountain even though the water was clean. I almost died convincing myself to try this water but I finally did and went back later for more because I was thirsty.
The Aquarium in the Bay was our stop after the Exploritorium and after dropping off our bikes. It was cool but nothing compared to the aquariums they had at the California Academy of Sciences.

San Francisco was awesome. I loved the trip and the people I befriended while there. Definitely somewhere you should go once in your life.

Section 4: My room. I was walking home from school one day and spotted this beautiful bed for sale and I bought it and Brianna helped me rearrange my entire room since a full size bed fits a little bit differently than a twin. The bigger bed freaked me out for a while but now I thoroughly enjoy taking up the space of an entire full size bed and tossing and turning all I want.

Section 5: Brianna went through her gangster phase which seems to have calmed down for the time being but it will probably come back someday. This is Jimmy and Brianna rockin out in the backseat on the way home from Peoria one night. When we stopped at the light and rolled down the windows and danced for the guy next to us.... well it was just pretty cool
Brianna in her gangsta jacket.
Section 6: For Christmas Brianna and Sarah's apartment complex had a door decorating contest. Theirs said, "Santa Claus used to be real. Until he forgot to bring Chuck Norris a Christmas present" Or something like that. They didn't win. I was upset.

WEll there are a few highlights of my life in the past few months. Now my slightly almost guilty feeling is gone and I am going to go study for my test.

GOOT BIE