Things To Be Excited About...

The first thing that each and every one of you should be excited about is that I finally got my lazy fingers to post something on this here blog. That's exciting thing number one. Other things are as follows.

*dramatically clears throat*

Things I, Mallorie Anne Mecham, Am Currently Ridiculously Excited About:

(in no particular order...oh who am I kidding. They're SO in order)

1. Mother's Day is in 38 days. This means that I not only get to celebrate my saintly mother, but that I get to talk to this here missionary.

2. I'm leaving for a fancy pants trip to the Dominican Republic and NYC with some pretty freaking awesome people on May 17th. 10 days of sand, awesomeness and no international students sending me emails. If you are calculating correctly you will realize that this means I get to spend my birthday in New York...which leads us to...

3. I get to spend my birthday in NEW YORK CITY! With Charisse. And her awesome family. Three cheers for turning cough28cough and being an honorary Baxter.

4. Jalyanie and Lucas are coming for a WEEK in June to see me. Okay, it's not really to see me, it's for Lucas' sister's wedding, but I'm really important. And I finally get to meet the darling Janie!

5. It's spring. Spring means skirts. And heels. And cute clothes. And flowers. And sunshine. And all kinds of delightful loveliness prior to the death that is SUMMER where I will melt into an unrecognizable puddle.

6. Netflix and the TV gods conspired to give me the greatest birthday present that a magic-trick-loving-banana-eater could ask for. Behold!

7. ENDER'S GAME. People. This is big. My world will be forever changed on November 01, 2013.

8. While I'm on the movie kick: The Veronica Mars Movie. Oh yes, marshmallows. V. Mars is back to rock your world.

9. My hairs are finally growing out. Want proof? See below. (Sorry for the fuzziness. Dropping your iPhone, for some reason, makes it less effective. Who knew?)

9.2 I'm also digging this nail polish color.

10. Even though I can't get myself to Manchester, this is cause for great excitement for a theatre nerd such as m'self.

So dearest friends, what are YOU excited about these days? Fill me in.

I have a completely awesome memory...(day 18)

No, really. I do. I have a tendency to remember really ridiculous stuff for the most random reasons. But most of my favorite memories have to do with my birthdays. Here's a picture of my 24th birthday, which was by far and away one of my best:

That's me. With my amazing cake. Wearing a crown.

And here's the next year. Wearing the same crown. And a musketeer on each arm and a generous blush on my cheeks.

Special times. 

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

Okay, so maybe it wasn't a galaxy far, far away. Maybe it was the sunny and bright city of North Hollywood, California, but that's beside the point. It was a momentous and incredible moment in my life. I met this fantastic, wonderful, energetic, amazing and life changing girl:


 

That's right. Malinda Nevitt. If you don't know her, you should. She makes the world a sassier place. I chose this particular picture because, hi, she's posing next to an R2D2 mailbox on Ventura Blvd in California. That is how epically awesome she is. Nevitt is one of 3 people who could actually convince me to brave the insane, hell-like heat of Arizona to visit her. And when I did, she didn't even make me leave her house. I spent an entire day in a freezing cold room, with Panda Express, watching Jane Austen movies. It was sheer bliss. She was one of those people who I clicked with in about half a second. She kept me sane for an entire six weeks on my mission. Without her, I would have probably jumped off the 3rd floor of our apartment complex. She was the person who found me crying on Christmas Eve because I was homesick and didn't make fun of me. Basically, what it comes down to is that Malinda Nevitt makes the world a better place and today is marvelous anniversary of her birth. So here's a big hooray for one of my all time, most favorite people.

TQM, Nevitt!

A quarter of a century of learnin'...

Last night, after my most fabulous gLee party (yes, I wore a tiara. And yes, if you must know, 2 very nice Musketeers came to sing me happy birthday since the show is still going on at the Hale. Does my life make you jealous? It should. Because one of them was devastatingly good looking, even in a wig) one of my insightful and wonderful friends asked me an interesting question. She wondered, now that a year of my life has passed, what I had learned. I made a few jokes about silly things, but spent the rest of the night pondering on her question. In reality, there's a lot that I've learned in the past year, but I realized that at the ripe ole age of 25, there's a lot that I've learned in life (read the last part of that particular sentence with HEAVY sarcasm. 25 is far from old). Anyway, here are a few things (25 to be exact) that I'd go back and tell myself, if I could:

25) Running through the sprinklers in your underwear is the only way to go when you're 2.

24) Peanut butter sandwiches and chocolate milk are gifts from heaven. Especially with your mom's homemade strawberry jam. That and the lilac bush 'playhouse' at the Denver Street house are the perfect combination for an excellent summer afternoon tea party.

23) Dressing your little brothers up in tutus and making them perform the ballet moves you taught them is COMPLETELY worth the blackmail material, even through all of the death threats.

22) Taking your little sisters with you isn't as bad as it seems. Eventually they'll be your best friends and you'll be begging them to hang out with you.

21) A copy of Anne of Green Gables and a rainy day never get old.

20) Telling your siblings there is no Santa Clause is cruel and will most definitely result in your parents playing a trick on you, causing you to doubt your own wisdom.

19) Snuggling a newborn baby is one of the best feelings on the planet.

18) An empty lot offers endless possibilities for an imaginative 11 year old and her brothers.

17)  Mom is always right. I know you think you are, but trust me, somewhere between the braces and your first car, you'll figure this out and be grateful for all that time she took to offer her advice.

18) 98% of the time, your dad is joking. Don't take him seriously.

17) Get used to wanting expensive clothes. That desire is not going away any time soon. It's called budget.

16) The fact that you're not sixteen for sophomore prom is not the end of the world. When you look back on it, you'll be grateful that Daddy didn't let you go.

15) Car dancing is a must. At all times. In all things. In all places.

14) Answer the pepperoni.

13) Following a prompting is never a waste of time, even if you don't see why it's important for years.

12) You will never be sorry that you served a mission. Ever.

11) When your heart gets broken, big time, it's okay to be upset for a little while, but be sure you move on. Holding on to a grudge never helps anyone.

10) No matter how hard you try, you'll never be a BYU fan. Just embrace your Ute pride and don't try to be something you're clearly not.

9) Confidence and pride are not the same thing.

8) Growing up has different milestones for everyone. Don't measure yourself against anyone else, it'll only cause you stress.

7) Math is evil. It poisons minds.

6) Being unique is essential. Do the best you can to be as true to yourself as possible. Always.

5) Never allow anyone else to define who you are.

4) Don't read Twilight. It's like cotton candy: pure spun sugar that rots your teeth out of your head. It's dangerous to your health.

3) There's a difference between sarcasm and wit. Learn it quickly.

2) When you feel like no one loves you, go to 4th grade.

and last but not least:

1) No matter how old you get, it's okay to watch the Disney channel. Always embrace your inner child.

A Word on Birthdays...

I absolutely 100% adore birthdays. Mine, other people's, strangers on the street. A birthday is important no matter who you are or what you do. One of my favorite things in the entire world is finding the perfect birthday present for someone. Like the time I found Sara a mug that said "In vain I have struggled!" on the front of it. I was giddy to receive said package in the mail and the proceeded to drive to it to her as soon as I possibly could. In reality, my own birthday is probably my favorite holiday. My hierarchy of  holidays goes a little something like this:

#1-4th of July

#2-My birthday

#3-Christmas

#4-Thanksgiving

This year I will officially be one quarter of a century old, which I have been repeatedly reminded is not as old as I seem to think it is, and in honor of this momentous occasion I asked for one thing and one thing only. 

This little guy:

  

BEST. BIRTHDAY. PRESENT. EVER.

Keegan Alexander Mecham was born on Saturday morning at 6:30. I unfortunately was out of town and haven't even held little Peanut yet, but you better bet that I'm getting my hands on this kid as soon as I can tomorrow after work. The poor Stahelis (who I was visiting in Cedar City) had to hear about him all weekend. I'm not excited or anything. 

24 Great Things About Turning 24...

1. Megan and Keisha decorated my door with all the things they love about me. It was adorable and made me feel loved.
2. Mom had her preschool class call and sing me happy birthday. I go and help out there once a week or so and they know me. They were all so excited to sing, it made my day.

3. Chels made me Nauvoo syrup and pancakes for breakfast. Can you say spectacular?

4. Karlie called me from Georgia and we talked.
5. I got to wear a crown and no one could make fun of me because it was MY birthday.

6. Sharing my birthday party with Jalayne was one of our best ideas ever, she makes everything more fun, even when she has a cold.

7. I had an excuse to get all my friends together to party!
8. I went home for my traditional Argentine dinner on Sunday and it was just as amazing as last year. My parents rock at feeding all the many friends I bring home.

9. I don't have to declare myself a dependent on anything anymore because I am FINALLY a real adult (as per federal student aid).

10. My car insurance goes down.

11. 24 has always been my favorite number.

12. I'm going to graduate from college while I'm 24

13. I got to eat this cake and it was even better then it looks in the picture(if that's even possible.)

14. I got to spend all weekend sleeping on my mattress in the living room. Now to most of you this would seem like a silly idea because why pull your mattress into the living room when you have a perfectly good bedroom to sleep in, but let's be honest. There is no TV in my bedroom. No TV means no birthday Gilmore Girls and that would be a tragedy.

15. Whitney was here with me all day on Monday. I love having her come to visit me.

16. 24 feels different from 23. I know that sound odd, but it does. I like feeling 24.

17. My age is also a TV show. Cool, no?
18. My friends all know me so well that each of them gave me something different for my birthday that I wanted.

19. Thanks to Chels and Jordan, I finally own an apron. I've been wanting one for a really really long time.

20. At work they bought me bagels from Einstein's. I love Einstein's cinnamon and sugar bagels. They make me happy. :)

21. I realized how lucky I am to have the friends I do. I have been so blessed to be surrounded by good people who help me to see how much the Lord loves me.

22. Even though I know she hates talking on the phone, Aubie still called to wish me a happy birthday.

23. I had an excuse to eat an insane amount of chocolate.
and last but not least...

24. My friend Jen tells me that 24 is the hot age... what do you think?

Ode to Spring...

Can I just say how excited I am for spring? I'm usually a fall/winter kind of girl. I love cloudy days and even more than that, I love snow, but as it's gotten warmer the last few days I keep getting more and more excited for spring to come around. The air has a special spring smell to it and I can wear short sleeved shirts without a coat. I CAN WEAR FLIP FLOPS!! Spring means that school is going to end and summer will come, a light at the end of the tunnel. Spring means that my birthday is coming (which is both a good and a bad thing). Spring means that the flowers will come back and the grass in front of my apartment will be green instead of brown. Spring means that we'll have Easter, which is one of my all time most favorite holidays. So in short, I am excited for spring...

Shout Out To Karlie Marie...

So since today is Karlie's birthday, and it's basically her favorite day of the year, I had to do a little post just for her. Here's a shout of to my BFF! Happy Birthday Jones!!

One Year Older...

I wanted to think of something profound to say today, it being my birthday and all...but nothing is coming to mind. Dang it! If I'm going to get older, I should at least get wiser too...isn't that how the song goes? Anyway, I guess that's okay, seeings as it probably wouldn't have been something too profound anyway...I keep thinking about my birthday last year while I was a missionary. It was such a good day! We taught some lessons, the elders took us out to lunch, the Santillans made dinner and a cake for me. I was woken up by my compie and the other sister that we lived with hitting me with huge pink balloons...wow. What a day. This year there were no pink balloons, BUT it is raining, so that's almost as good.