Ain't nobody catchin' up to [my] crazy train...

My avid fans (I know you're out there--somewhere) will remember my excursion to Barnes and Noble last weekend. A-ma-za-zing (name that movie. Anyone?) There were a couple things that I wanted to say about that, but it just seemed superfluous at the time. Not anymore, my friends. Some of you already know about a few of my favorite books, but some of you don't. And those of you who do could probably use a reminder of which books have changed my life. I want to read them AGAIN.

Three of these books are written by a pretty well-known author, but not for these three. He usually writes mysteries and has a main character named Alex Cross that features in a lot of them. Ringin' a bell to anyone?
It's James Patterson. I have never read his mystery novels, which is weird because the chance of me, or anyone, reading one of those compared to one of these three is way higher. Probability goes down the drain with me...what can I say? I am unpredictable. Anyway, I keep saying "these three" because I don't even know what genre they are! I can't explain them in words. So I will just show them to you and you can let me know what you think after you read them.

Book #1 - Sundays at Tiffany's

The "teaser" on the front sounds cheesy and ridiculous, yes. I did realize that before I picked it up. But I trust my buddy James and his track record. So I went for it and I liked it--enough to hang out at B&N's for HOURS. Out of the three, I would read it first and build up from there. It's good, but the others are more powerful. I'd give it a number, but I don't want to set any expectations (high or low). However, I will say that you shouldn't need tissues for this..but I was emotionally invested--just in a different way.
Ignore the teaser and read the dang book.

Book #2 - Sam's Letters to Jennifer

Wow. Unlike Sundays at Tiffany's, this book isn't anywhere near what you expect. Don't think that means you can skip to the end before you read the beginning. No peeking.
It's been a while since I read it, but I remember thinking that it had genius twists in it that kept me reading and reading. I could not put this book down. It has romance and intrigue and humor--it should kept you reeled in. Definitely. Read this one second.

Book #3 - Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas

This book was recommended to me by my wonderful friend, Allie. She actually had two copies and gave one to me because she wanted me to read it so much. This one is my absolute favorite. As I remember, it is a bit vague and confusing at the beginning, but soon enough I was emerged so deep into the story that I could not pull myself out.
It genuinely touched my heart and I will be reading it for years to come.
Read this one last.

I have a few more recommendations while I'm on a roll, and I also have a book that is next on my list. First is one of my favorite books of all time. It is a really easy read and it is told from the perspective of a 15-16 year old girl (so it can definitely be frustrating--but that's how we were when we were that age, so at least it's accurate). It's cute (for lack of a better word), touching, and entertaining. I loved it so much that I was willing to read the whole thing, out loud, to my dad while we drove home from Vegas one time. Let's just say I didn't talk much for the next few days. It's called The Secret Journal of Brett Colton.


My final recommendation is actually a trilogy, with the third book coming out in September (ish). I have already talked about Hunger Games (which is absolutely brilliant), but I recently read Catching Fire. It was all part of my amazing plan (which involved an uncharacteristic kind of patience and self control). I read Hunger Games in August. Catching Fire came out in September (and my fab cousin, Heather, got if for me for my birthday), the only problem was that I knew there was a third book coming out in a year, and I didn't want to have to wait that long to find the ground after I fell off of the cliffhanger at the end of Catching Fire. SO I waited six months to read Catching Fire (let's see how many times I can actually say the book titles!)--that way I was waiting an equal 6 months to solve each of the cliffhangers. Now I can start the countdown to Mockingjay.

Moral of the story - Read them ALL.

Now for the next book on my list. I remember because of a talk today in sacrament meeting. Someone was talking about what determines our futures and whether it is our environment or what. When I was at B&N, I saw this book on the shelf:

It's a true story, written by Wes Moore about his life and the life of another man named Wes Moore. They were born in the same neighborhood, within a year of each other, and each of them were featured in one edition of their local newspaper one day. THIS Wes, the author, was being commended for academic achievement, the other Wes was arrested. Today, THIS Wes is a Rhodes Scholar, a decorated combat veteran, White House Fellow, and business leader. The other Wes is serving a life sentence in prison for felony murder. It sounds like an amazing story about two men in the same situation taking completely different paths. I am eager to read it.

Let's get down to bi-niss, eh? I went to Valley Forge and Philly this weekend! We woke up early to drive the three and some hours to Valley Forge and when we pulled up to where we were staying, this is what we saw:
Aw! I was already in love. Then I actually saw where we were STAYING. See below. We went on a tour of Valley Forge Park, so there is also a picture of Murray, our tour guide, in his sweet gettup!

This place was beautiful, fun, patriotic, and delicious. As in the food (not the mosquito that bit me a thousand times, the spider that landed on my shoulder in the jungle, or the bug in Hannah's bed that freaked her out). The food they served was extremely good and it was so nice to eat anything I wanted (including unlimited drinks-cranberry juice + ginger ale = happiness) and I didn't have to prepare it OR clean it. I was in HEAVEN.

After our tour we played games like maniacs. Ultimate frisbee, knock-out/bump-out (it's like speed, but you can hit the other person's basketball out of the way so they can't make it) and beach volleyball. Turns out I'm not so good at that game. Once I put my arms together in front of me, they aren't moving. And let me tell you--chest bumping the volleyball doesn't ACTUALLY work. But hey, it makes people laugh! So there's that. Fabulous...

THEN we had dinner, an ice cream social, and a game night in the rec room. We played WICKED games of ping pong around the world! See below. We also played pool, card games, and foosball (thanks for teaching me the art, Daddy. Turns out I've still got it!). I played two on two with a guy in my program, David, and we kicked trash! If someone *cough Hannah* tells you otherwise, make sure you ask her to tell you the whole story, haha. I love you! But don't make me put more embarrassing sleep-reading pictures on here...you know I will haha! :)
Note: While you're at it, make sure you ask her what happened to her face last night.

Here's one of many ping pong rounds:

My best "score" or "place" was 3rd out of...I don't know. 25 people? Something like that. And I'm dang proud of it! We probably played 10+ games, and it was insane-and humid-in that room. Pretty sure you would have loved the stinky college kid smell, Mom.
Oh, and I also killed Jeff.
He thought this was strictly a sword-fighting duel. HA! The man didn't have a chance, but his form is pretty impressive!

Onto Philly!

Funny moment: Hannah and I were listening to this song called "Runaway" by Steve Means. We get off the bus in Philly and start walking and about 5 minutes later BOTH Hannah and I burst into song singing the same line "Hey Bay-bay, you're like a runaway; ain't nobody catchin' up to your crazy train" at the same moment without ANY warning. What the?! HAHA!

First order of business, I met a guy. He's 6'2", really smart, handsome, gentlemanly, refined, and I think we look really cute together. We met in the exhibit at the Constitutional Convention Center (I think that's what it's called--I was a little distracted at the time), and just hit it off. He's pretty quiet, but makes a big impression, and I actually think he's kind of famous.

His name is George. And he is pretty dang good looking for being over 270 years old.
I also met a midget who is a friend of George's. Alexander Hamilton...my new pet.

We saw Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and a "We the People" performance about the history of the U.S. and the writing of the Constitution. The music they played at the end of the video and the concluding WHAM factor honestly made me cry. I love America! I can't believe how many things are going on in my lifetime that are going to be put in the history books...whether good or bad. Things have changed so much and I am so grateful to be living in this country and to have had such committed people throughout our history. They fought for what they believed would make this country better, and not many of us perform at their level of brilliance and determination.

Here are a few snapshots from Philly:

The rest of the day was pretty chill. I just hung out with Trevor and Seth and we hunted down Drexel University where they are taking their LSAT in June. Crazy wanna-be-lawyers. I love them anyway! And we had a blast seeing this and that and experiencing the ghetto-ness and rudeness that is Philadelphia and it's inhabitants. Ya know the part in National Treasure when Abigail Chase is hiding behind the meat counter of that market and the black lady says "Do you WANT something?" to the bald guy? Ya know how she's snippy and kind of rude. Yeah, welcome to Philly.

There is some pretty cool architecture there, and the Philly cheese steak sandwich I had (with provolone and peppers) was super good. Even though it looked a little bit like puke. I didn't even think to take a picture! When I mooch one off of someone else, I will post it and you will think I'm crazy for eating it, haha. One tip, avoid the metro! It smells like waste, features too much chain link, and the paying system makes NO sense? TOKENS? What does that even MEAN? And they don't give you change for a base fair either! You have to pay the exact amount in cash! Who carries cash, let alone one dollar bills up the wazoo anymore? That's right! NO ONE.

We got home later last night, I ate a banana, and played 2 on 2 ping pong with Hannah, Jeff, and Adam. Me and Adam against Jeff and Hannah. J&H were so distracted by mine and Adam's mad booty shaking and dancing skills that we won! Shaking yo tail fethas = success!

You're probably overwhelmed and tired, and you weren't even THERE!
But I shall release my spell on you.

Until next time,

-T

P.S. If you are looking for the following kinds of videos, search these on youtube:
Motivational- My New Life (the Mormon Message)
Hilarious- Too Late to Apologize: A Declaration
Ridiculously Funny- The greatest freakout ever (parts 1-8)