Some of the best times ever...

Life is great. Because things like this happen, also because I am in a nostalgic mood. Get ready for some awesomeness.
1. The time all of my junior high friends decided to get together at Lori's house and have a fancy dinner party. We promised to be on our best manners so her parents would lift the ban. (Which was implemented because of some previous adventures including, but not limited to, doing shots of root beer and getting birthday cake everywhere, filling the staircase with balloons and sitting inside the ballons or making youtube videos of the balloons, (look up balloon army. no idea how it got that many hits.), watching movies in the middle of the night, trapping people (me) in the laundry shoot, and breaking Lori's bed) Yes, we wore dresses and suits and we all looked pretty hot. We actually played croquet in the backyard in said suits and dresses, then had dinner which was pretty great. Courses and all that. And then We decided to have a group photo shoot. Preserve the memories, right? Once we got done with that, some more playing in the backyard went on, where enters the picture of me upside down on the swing. Remember I was in a dress. ( Justin: "Umm, amy, I think you shouldn't do that. I can see stuff." Whoops.) Altogether, it was a fabulous night.

2. The time everybody was over at Justin's house and people are playing hide and seek and keep trying to sneak in and out of the house through the window downstairs. I was on my way downstairs to put the screen back in the window, right? Picture. Amy, approaching the house rather swiftly, assumes that the door is open so she can walk right in. But no! There is a screen door in the way! Amy bashes it in with her face, not only breaking the screen out of the frame, but also bending the frame. Embarrassed? A little bit. Face throbbing? A lot bit. Do all of Justin's relatives now see me and say "Weren't you the one who broke the door with her face?" Yes, of course. Does Justin's dad still make fun of me for breaking all their doors when the front door sticks a little? Absolutely. Was Justin really nice about it? Yes. What are best friends for?

3. The time the Madrigals sang for the Legislature and then went to Olive Garden with Principal Haslam's credit card. Oh. My. Pasta. And there was a piece of ceramic plate in my food. That was fabulous. And then at UTA a week later when Schmid bought us all dinner at Olive Garden because he is just nice like that...yeah, I don't think I have ever paid for food at Olive Garden. Which I am personally okay with.

4. Doing donuts in the parking lot in Landon's jeep during December. Shh. Don't tell mom.

5. Building a couch with Spencer senior year for productions class. Special thanks to Michael Banks, who actually stapled the thing together for us. This wasn't just any couch either. Much to Schmid's chagrin, it was successfully dubbed, "The Rape Couch". It is pretty dang comfortable. And it is a miracle Spencer and I didn't hate each other by the time we were done. Although there was that one time...
Schmid: So what are you guys arguing about?
Amy: We aren't arguing. Did he tell you we were arguing?! Why would you say we were arguing?
Spencer: All I said was that we were having this large argument because we don't know how to attach that one leg plate and still make that trim look nice, and you won't listen to me.
Amy: Oh, that's all you said? Well now we are arguing for sure. Seriously, Spencer?!
Schmid: Okay, guys, just show me what you need help on. And then I'll leave you alone to fight it out like an old married couple.
 Poor guy. I was stressed, and maybe a little bit bratty. Although I was right about the trim, just for the record. We were so stressed with that thing that we started taking breaks up in the prop room just to stop going insane with upholstery details. Thank you Spencer, for teaching me the art of the catwalks. And how to avoid that one hole in the floor so I wouldn't die.  This was our stress reliever. And it was totally worth it. How many people can say they built a couch from scratch for a school assignment? We sat on that thing every day for the rest of the year. Spencer, I love you. I say we go for it and start that chaise-lounge building business you wanted to start. I'm down.

6. That time in Mads when Porter randomly turned on Apple Bottom Jeans during class and we all started singing it. (Sorry, T!) Since that day, it has been the Madrigals' theme song. Nobody understands why, not even us. It still makes me feel all warm inside, which is not the norm for rap songs in my own life.

7. The Illiad. Oh, kill me. Most stressful thing of my life. Best comments:
Schmid: You guys are doing great. I really think this is going to be exciting. (all the rest of us are thinking: Have you actually been to a whole rehearsal? We suck. )
Spencer: Hector's dead! Woot! (Oh, were we all supposed to cheer there? Don't think so.)
Judges: There was  time or two when there were people were alone onstage and it wasn't really clear what the purpose of that was. ( Oh, you mean the scene with Hector and Andromache when Kat just didn't come onstage? Yeah, Matt waiting there for a minute and then going off... that was on purpose, we promise.)
Justin: If we have to do the donut battle one more time, so help me...
Liz: You guys, the swords actually have lead in them, so maybe you should wash your hands a lot, and probably sticking them in your mouth is a bad idea. ( You know, that is just sad on so many levels.)

Overall, it was a great exercise in pulling a performance out of you-know-where.

8. When we all tried out for Madrigals. And I thought I was going to puke. And then really actually seriously felt like I would puke because I went first, lucky me. But that is okay, because that was the year that I made Justin share his locker with me and he left me a note in there that said "Good luck trying out for Mads! p.s. You're gonna make it!. I still have that note. Warmfuzzyville. yep.

9. Quote wall in the dressing room during Les Miserables. Could life get any better? And that time in Les Mis when Schmid took my ballgown top home to fix it and then forgot to bring it back. So here I am, in the wrong costume, wandering around in the audience while the play is going on trying to find Schmid. Then came the mad dash to costumlandia with Schmid when he started throwing ballgowns at me that might fit. Was everyone confused when I was suddenly wearing a dress from Meet me in St. Louis as opposed to the ballgowns everyone else was wearing? Absolutely. And the thing had a train. Not that great when you are waltzing backwards up a ramp near the trapdoor hole and you feel like you might die anyway. Thank goodness for Darian, who wouldn't ever talk to me but was a really good leader who saved my life by just pushing me up the ramp every night. Kudos for never letting me fall down the hole. I like you, kid.

10. All the arguments with Nate about stupid little details of the Lobby display. I am pretty sure it was Schmid who named us Lucy and Ethel. Which actually describes our relationship pretty accurately. Every argument we had our whole senior year was settled with rock paper scissors. We're Pros.