reunions.

one of my best friends just got home from from his two-year mission for the lds church to west virginia.

unfortunately, i was having my tonsils ripped out of my throat the day he came home, so i missed his real homecoming.

but he came to provo this weekend... and it was so great to catch up!

we went to cafe rio (the best) and saw tron with some friends at the dollar theater.

the movie had potential (but awful dialogue)... definitely worth a dollar, though.

look how far our friendship has come...

then:

now:

oh, and ladies... lucky for all of you, he's single!

*the first picture is from a white trash party in high school. classy, i know.

**okay, so the second picture is in 3d glasses... equally as classy. sometimes, it's fun to not grow up.

february birthdays, part two.

so the second half of the-birthday-weekend-extravaganza situation was completed saturday.

we met up with some friends for a session of comedy sportz (which was awesomely hilarious, as usual)...

and amanda got serenaded on stage!

she even got a date out of it from one of the actors... happy birthday to her!

we headed back to the apartment for a little shindig of sorts,

complete with an assortment of sweets and lots of fun friends.

happy 21st to my roommates--

thanks for the fun weekend!

february birthdays, part one.

so, it just so happens that a lot of my close friends' birthdays fall in february.

that means, a lot of celebration... and a lot of cake!

this past weekend, two of my best friends (oh yeah, they're my roommates too), turned twenty-one.

this seems to be a landmark of sorts... so, we figured we better make the weekend count!

we started it all off on friday night by heading up to draper.

amanda's aunt and uncle graciously offered up their home to us for the evening, so we jumped at the chance to get out of provo.

amanda chose pei wei as the destination for her birthday dinner... and a good choice, it was.

amanda, me, and our chinese food.

this proved to be true for all of us... though we were all starving, we patiently waited for our food, and man, was it worth it! plus, mary got two job offers within a few days of this fortune... if those aren't "good things", i don't know what are!

michelle & mary and of course, their food.

my meal: gluten-free sweet-and-sour chicken and veggies.

a fun fact for all of my gf followers-- you can get many dishes at both p.f. changs and pei wei made gluten-free; just ask for the gf menu, and stress to them that you need the chefs to be careful in preparation! post script: the food was delicious.

after our meal, we headed to amanda's family's house for the remainder of the evening.

there, we were greeted with a beautiful birthday cake... have you noticed how food seems to be a trend here? :)

the cake was a swedish recipe, handed down from amanda's great, great grandmother... and from what i heard, it was a knock out.

the birthday girl and her cake.

my ice cream.

lauren joined us shortly thereafter,

and we were treated like royalty by amanda's aunt and uncle--there's really no other way to describe it.

they brought us brazilian limeades while we were out in the coconut-mango-scented hot tub, they cooked us a phenomenal breakfast in the morning (including hot cocoa), and they even left us chocolates by our pillows.

a shout out to the petersons for their hospitality and kindness!

a quick little escape from provo has never been quite so sweet.

fiesta, forever.

so tonight we mixed things up a bit and had a little fiesta of sorts.

i called up the hermano and his bff, they grabbed some friends, and we collaborated for a dinner party!

and i must say, era padre (look that up on google translate, si quieres).

we made lauren's mom's famous cafe rio chicken and paired it with all of those good mexican-type toppings.

annnnd we devoured it preetty nicely.

then, we were provided with some decadent (or so i heard) spice cake with cream cheese frosting and gluten-free brownies (for me!) for dessert by the lovely curtis sisters.

we chatted, made new friends, and watched the BYU vs. CSU game.

we even pulled out amanda's swedish bubbly for the occasion!

unfortunately, i pulled out my camera long after the festivities (and feasting) had begun, but i still ended up with a few decent shots from the evening...

delicious, and so easy to make, especially for a larger crowd... here's lauren's recipe!

i'd say it was certainly a successful saturday night... what do you think?

anna & amanda's fast freezer diet!

eat like us,

and before you know it,

you'll be able to fit inside of a freezer too!!!

roommates.

i really lucked out this year with four great roommates.

yes, i say four because two are really pseudo roommates of the best sort (we are constantly each other's houses... which is nice, since it's right next door!)

these girls are talented, intelligent, and driven.

they are hilarious, so much fun, and they are constantly raising my self esteem.

right about now,

i don't know what i'd do without them!

we went up the canyon for a sec this weekend, in an attempt to capture the foliage. but instead, we got....

mary is a registered dietician who will be finished with her masters in one short month! she is oh so wise and understands my gluten-free situations better than i do.

amanda is a future advertising/marketing master who is a fabulous dancer and so full of life! what a sweetheart.

michelle is an international relations guru. she's passionate about middle-eastern affairs, and is amazing-- she speaks arabic and some farsi!

lauren suffers through the rigors of the health science courses with me as she prepares to go to dental hygiene school in the spring. she's incredibly optimistic & giving, and she always makes me feel so welcome and loved!

i feel as if there was a bit of divine intervention when i think about how i came to randomly come in contact with these women this year. they've been so caring and supportive of me, and we've shared so many laughs.

plus, they're quite attractive (and most of them are single)... so, if anyone knows any willing single fellas... wink, wink...

i love sleep.

today was one of the happiest days of the year!

why, you ask?

because of daylight savings time, claro!

the whole falling back situation is ridiculously rad. i am a huuge fan of extra sleep.

and so are my roommates.

so we felt the need to celebrate, by baking/eating a gluten-free cake last night at 12:00.

it was delicious. really, really delicious.

and it may or may not be nearly completely gone today.

thank you, señora crocker.

oh, saturday.

today started out in the most sour of fashions... cleaning checks.

and not only did we have cleaning checks, our apartment was checked by the cleaning dictator/housewife turned psychotic/#1 cleaner professional of the world.

and no, i'm not being dramatic.

after "barely" passing the checks, an hour or so of rants in apartment 303 ensued.

we finally settled down a bit, and took halfway-decent saturday naps.

now, i could turn this story into something sad, pathetic, and horrible, but i'll keep it real.

we went to the byu game in the afternoon, and the cougs more or less ruled the field.

it was nice to throw down a 55-7 win, even if our opponent was only 1-8 for the season...

i promise, we were happy! see?...

amanda & i were so pumped for the big W

as requested by jake... will & his homeboys

our second-row seats allowed us easy access for the high-five situation at the end of the game.

oh, and amanda is a hair model.

despite the disastrous morning, the rest of the day worked out quite nicely.

and thank goodness for that!

please excuse my absence...

i am just a bit lost, at present.

i'll be back.

reasons why i love my roommates:

1. i come home and turn on the tv, and guess what they've been watching... food network!

2. they are nice to me when i am sick and surgery'd.

3. they don't really care when i choose not to wear makeup or have cavewoman hair.

4. they like to throw parties and make new friends.

5. sometimes, we stay up really late watching house hunters and laughing.

6. they are really cute and oh-so-nice.

7. we get in our daily ab workouts through youtube videos.

8. they keep our apartment clean.

9. they like to cook delicious-smelling foods, often.

10. they don't call me a bum when i sleep in until 12.

11. they're always quick to offer up their help when i am not having a good day.

12. they don't think i'm a loser when i am not feeling well and spend my weekend on the couch in pjs.

13. they watch the middle and modern family with me, and we laugh hysterically.

14. they aren't ashamed to go to the grocery store with me and stock up on mounds of on-sale brownie, cake, and cookie mixes. they're my kind of women!

so far, the 303 has treated me verrrry well. i am a lucky girl.