Road Trip Preparation

Hey y'all!

Guess what? i'm going on a road trip this weekend! I'm going to Vegas baby! :o) With my favorite Sister B and Chilly! woo hoo!

Everyone knows that a successful road trip includes good music, good people and OF COURSE good food.

So, dear internet friends, what is/are your favorite road trip food(s)? Please share as we want to be sure we have the best time with the BEST food possible.

Monday Marvels

So today's Monday Marvels comes from my Sunday School lesson yesterday. At one point, the teacher passed around pretzels for everyone to have as a little snack and said they would tie into the lesson. We were discussing prayer and how it brings the Holy Ghost into our lives, and he read us this little story about pretzels and how it can be a reminder of prayer.

In about 610 A.D. a very creative Alpine Monk decided to make use of the pieces of dough left over from baking bread. The Monk formed them into thin strips folded into a looped twist to represent the folded arms of children in prayer.

This scrumptious treat was given to the children as they learned their prayers. They began calling the treat "Pretiola", which is Latin for "little reward". Soon it was known the world over as a pretzel.

The secret of making great pretzels is not only in the baking but also in the shaping. We, like pretzels, are made from the best ingredients, by the best hands available, the hands of our Father in Heaven.

Have you ever seen a broken pretzel, or one that's lost its shape? We too, can lose our shape when we don't pray always to keep our spirituality intact. Even in the midst of our greatest trials, we must remember, as did Job, to call on the Lord. The simple shape of the pretzel, arms folded in prayer, reminds us to pray each day. Our "Pretiola" or "little rewards" are the blessings we receive.

Every time you see a pretzel, remember prayer. Check to see if your arms are often folded in prayer and have not lost their shape.

How cute is that? I really liked that little story. I hope it brings a smile to you face today. Man. Now I want a big, huge pretzel from a pretzel stand....

WARNING:: TMI ahead....

Well folks...

I DID IT!!!! I finished the 5k portion of the triathlon! I am AWESOME!!! :o)

however....now my butt hurts. A LOT. At the end of the triathlon they had people from the Provo School of Massage Therapy there to give the race participants massages. It was awesome. They rubbed out my glutes (just a little bit) and my right calf (which was so tight due to the knee injury i'm still dealing with).

Overall, my experience was really awesome. The second lap of the course that I had to do was really hard, but I pushed through and I even sprinted through the finish line! That's how awesome I am. :o) There are some pictures on Facebook, so if we are friends you can check them out there under pics of me!

After the triathlon I crashed on my living room floor and SwingKid showed up to congratulate me. It was very sweet. We got to hang out for a couple of hours before we both had to finish our tasks for the day. Mine consisted of taking a nap and a long, hot bath in my jetted tub. :o) Then Roommate R (she might need a new name...we aren't really roommates anymore) and I went to CPK (only my favorite restaurant ever) and then to the dollar theater to see My Sister's Keeper. oh man. I totally cried. I think everyone in the theater was crying. Such an intense movie. Go see it. It's beautiful.

Now here I am, waiting for church to start...which doesn't happen until 1:30pm. UGH! It's SO LATE! but at least I have a day to sleep in. That is very nice and happy. :o)

However....my butt still hurts.

last August friday...

I can hardly believe that the month ends in just a few days. wow!

let's get this party started!!

And...here we go!

1. He was a great friend.

2. The smell of fall coming into the air is what I look forward to most this time of year.

3. My best friend will hopefully be the same as my lover someday.

4. Life is currently hard, to be honest with you.

5. Appearances can be extremely deceiving. Trust me, I know.

6. The last person I gave a hug to was Roommate R! (I'm so happy she is home back.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Mighty Mouse's wedding reception, tomorrow my plans include running a 5k (eek!) and Sunday, I want to meet some new people in my new ward!

It's Thoisday!!

I love me some Thoisday! :o)

today's Thoisday feature is Reason #599 why I love SwingKid

In my Inbox this morning was an email from SwingKid.

One sentence

It read: "You're a cutie"

that's all. Isn't that sweet?? man. I <3 that kid.

p.s. I have posted every day this week. I am awesome. I hope the trend continues....

Days Go By....

And days go by...
I can feel 'em flyin'
Like a hand out the window in the wind.
The cars go by...
Yeah it's all we've been given,
So you better start livin' right now
'Cause days go by..

Oh...are you looking at me? Sorry...I was just taking a moment to sing a little something as I wrote this post. :D

So...it's time for all y'all to know my latest and greatest and the countdowns that come with said latest and greatest.

24 days - by this day I will have hopefully have lost 10 lbs (p.s. I have lost 3 to this date...I'm rather excited by this fact)

17 days - Roommate R, Sister B and I are all going to go shopping (yes, we have set a specific date. we might go shopping before....but that shopping trip has a special purpose. :o) )

11 days - Chillygator, Katria, Sister B (probably) and I are all going to Vegas to see Linda Eder and Douglas Sills in a fabulous show. I'm rather excited. We just decided to go yesterday/today and it's going to be SO MUCH FUN!!! Road Trip!!!

10 days - BYU FOOTBALL kicks off agains Oklahoma in a brand new stadium! WOOT!!! I am rather excited for this day. Also, this day is the day I will be celebrating my 5 year high school reunion. Kind of crazy to think I've been done with that part of my life for so long!

5 days- until the first day of school at BYU....except I'm not going back!!! ha ha ha suckers! Although SwingKid will be starting classes. Guess we'll see how that goes.....

in a matter of HOURS - Roommate R and I will be REUNITED!!! We're not living together, BUT she is rooming with Sister B and we have many a plans to party (she keeps me sane!) I CAN'T WAIT!!!


Anything in particular you are looking forward to in your life?

When I grow up...

So the Pussycat Dolls sing a song entitled When I Grow Up. In this song part of the chorus goes like this:

When I grow up
I wanna be famous
I wanna be a star
I wanna be in movies

When I grow up
I wanna see the world
Drive nice cars
I wanna have groupies

The part that I want to relate to this post is the "I wanna be famous" line. Today I realized that I want to be blogger famous. I read a few blogs (some stalk, some not) where the authors are (at least in my opinion) FAMOUS! I don't know how they did it, but suddenly, their blogs are read by people all over the nation, they get asked to guest blog and such AND they go to events like BlogHer because they are just. that. cool.

Man Alive! I want to be that cool! Like my friend Angiegirl at Angieville. She gets asked to review books, she goes to cool events where people know her and all sorts of things. She's got an in!

Then there is Ree Drummond. The Pioneer Woman. She is freaking awesome and probably will one day be a legend. I got involved in her blog via her love story that someone else shared with me on day. I'm pretty sure she has no idea who i am (this is where i reveal that i am somewhat of a blog stalker...) but I still love reading about her. She's pretty famous and goes to cool things where people KNOW her.

Another person I blog-stalk is Design Mom. She always has nifty ideas about things for the home AND she goes cool places. I'm not exactly sure how she got her start, but she's so cool now that it really doesn't matter.

So....there you go, one person that I know and two that I really don't, but all three are pretty awesome, pretty cool people and I want to be them when I grow up. How do I become awesome and get people to read my blog. How do I write more witty, interesting things for people to enjoy? I am really a cool person in real life (just ask SwingKid or Angie or my mother...I am the favorite daughter after all!) but somehow I feel like it doesn't quite relate here. So blogging world...those of you that lurk and might read still...what should I do to be more ME on this blog? I know some of you know me in real life and read to see what I'm doing these days, but that also means that you know how wickedly awesome I am. Share your thoughts or your dreams. Do you long to be blogger famous?

I know I do. :o)

Monday Marvels Premiere

I had an idea. It's called Monday Marvels. It's where each Monday, I post something that made me marvel or is simply marvelous. It could be anything from a quote, to a picture, to a YouTube video...pretty much anything that makes me go, "Wow" is worthy of a Monday Marvels post. Sounds like a good idea no? Hopefully I can manage to find something worthy of a Monday Marvels post each week....

So to kick off this week's Monday Marvels I wanted to share with you my FAVORITE YouTube video of all times.




This video was once sent to me by someone else and I just thoroughly enjoyed it. Hopefully it makes you smile and you will also want to share it with others.

Here's to my new series: Monday Marvels!

Friday

Is it really friday? wow. it's been a really long week. hmmm...here's to next week being faster and better than this week.

1. I remember, I remember the 5th of November....it's Guy Fawkes Day!!! ha ha ha.

2. Dear person x I want you to know that i am very upset that you almsot ran me over in my new car. CURSE You!

3. Is that my 5-year high school reunion coming up!!??? NO WAY!!!

4. I'm trying to resist the temptation of sweet. good-bye 10 extra lbs.

5. I'm saving a spot next to me just for you!

6. If I made a birthday list a new iPod would definitely be on it!!!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting together with my payson peeps, tomorrow my plans include bu2 class, webcamin' with the fam and a movie and Sunday, I want to eat yummy food!

And Just to leave you with something fun...my horoscope today really seemed to work :o) Have a good weekend!

You are apt to feel a great deal of support, Alicia, though it might be hidden in rather unexpected places. Don't discount anyone, for even the most caustic remarks are apt to have a touch of sensitivity and progressive thought that can help you out a great deal. There is strength in emotional truth, regardless of how much you don't want to hear it. Bitter pills may be hard to swallow, but they will be good for you in the long run.

bad day, hard day, teary day

So. I had a particularly not so happy day yesterday. The last fifteen minutes of work were not happy for me and I did everything I could to fight back the tears that kept wanting to come. BUT I had 3 awesome things happen that helped me feel better about the current situation that is my life.

1. I came home and felt very strongly that I should work on one of my goals as I ate dinner. That goal is to take time each day to study a gospel topic. This week I am studying the Atonement. As I pulled up my computer, I pulled up a talk by President James E. Faust entitled: The Atonement: Our Greatest Hope. This talk really put a few things into perspective for me and I was able to feel a TON better about my situation.

2. I visited Sister B after teaching a ballet class (which had 2 students in it. I hope I get more and I don't die) she told me I had some mail on the table and when I went to go get it, sitting on the table was a beautiful, pink gerbera daisy with a card. This card had a great little poem that I am going to give to you here:

I know things aren't easy for you right now...
You may be wondering how
you're gong to deal with everything that's facing you.
But I know you -
you have a strong spirit -
and even though it might be
hard for you to believe,
I know you have what it takes
to get through this time.
And if you ever need to talk
or if you'd like the support
of a friend,
I'll always be here with open arms, a listening ear,
and a loving shoulder to lean on.
And most important, I'm here to remind you...
as often as you need...
that things are going to be okay. - M. Gentry

Isn't that an awesome poem? It totally made me cry all over again, but I seriously have the best sister in the world here to help me through the hard times. I am SO SO SO lucky to have her here.

3. 3 songs. I love music and it does so much for my soul. My three songs that are helping me right now are as follows:

1. Daniel Powter's Bad Day
2. REM's Everybody Hurts
3. Jo Dee Messina & Tim McGraw's Bring On The Rain

Moral of the story is: it's okay to have bad days, everybody hurts (including me. i know, you thought i was invincible, but that's not true) and the rain isn't going to hurt me. I CAN do this, I WILL do this, and EVERYTHING WILL be OKAY in the end. I just hope it's the end I want. :o)

a moment for me

so. i should be working on my list of to-do things that is a MILE long at work. but....i needed a moment. so i am taking a moment for me.

lately, this song: Feelin' Good by Michael Buble keeps coming to mind.

Specifically this phrase:

It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good

Today marks a new beginning. The beginning of a new year at the studio that I teach. I have new lesson plans, new ideas, hopefully some new music in the near future and new choreography. I love new beginnings, part of me longs for that feeling of starting a new school year, but alas, I graduated 4 months ago. (oh. my. gosh! 4 months ago!) So, no more new school feelings for me personally, at least not for a while. SwingKid starts school in less than two weeks, and with that comes him working a bazillion extra shifts so I get less time with him and when school starts it won't get any better.

I am NOT bitter....YET! ;)

p.s. I changed the look...again. It's sort of fall-ish. i like it. it's a rerun from last year about this time, but it makes me happy. i love gerbera daisies. now if only SwingKid would get that hint and get me some..... lol

dreams, auditions, and goals

Well my dear blogging friends, this weekend was sort of crazy! Let's start at the beginning shall we?

dreams

so after an interesting friday evening, i went to sleep around 11 pm knowing i had to wake up super early saturday morning for ballet company auditions. well, my poor body decided that it needed some nightmares to help me not sleep well.

This nightmare was SO weird! In it, Sister B and I had this awful, deathly disease. We were coughing and sneezy up blood and guts and both in the hospital at death's door. Although Sister B was closer than I. I woke up in the middle of the night lying on my back. It was odd.

auditions

The annual auditions for the studio's dance companies were Saturday. I taught the senior company audition and then had a meeting, went shopping, showered and then went back to watch the junior company audition. All auditions went well and I feel like I have a good company this year. Even if they are young and inexperienced. I'll get to train these girls from the bottom up and I'll see a ton of improvement and that's really exciting to me. :o) Here's to a good year!!

goals

Sister B is my sponsor for said goals. I decided that I needed someone to answer to, to make sure I'm doing things instead of just picking goals and then not doing them. So! my goals are as follows:

In the next 5 weeks I will:

• lose 10 lbs (totally do able!)
  
• read 2 books for enjoyment
  
• Finish the Book of Mormon (I'm in the middle of 3rd Nephi)
• Read another church-y book
• Run a 5k (august 29)
• do yoga 2x a week
• cut music and start choreography for jr. company's contemporary piece

I think that's all...but i'm having a hard time remembering all of my goals right now.....I'll keep you posted on how things go!

Friday Giggles

So my dear friend Angie posted this: yesterday Thursday Giggles: Personalized Version where she talks about Romance By You website. This incredible website allows you, for only $39.95 + shipping, to help write your very own personalized romance novel! Simply fill in the blanks: girl's and boy's names, toss in a couple of physical characteristics, an exotic locale or two, and presto! You've got yourself a story.

As a guilty pleasure yesterday, I spent a few minutes personlizing a couple of the titles to get a preview of what the best novel might be. I personally fell in love with the title Pirates of Desire.

For your reading pleasure this Friday (i'm sitting all alone at the front desk. Solitude is very lonely) I'm providing you with one of the 3 chapter excerpts that you can preview from this book. So so so so Funny!!

from the book itself: (warning. this part is slightly scandalous...but it's not bad. at least, i don't think so. i just crack up every time i read it.)

Chapter Ten ... Love triumphs for Lady Alishka & Swing (the bold parts are what I put in, they say on the site that they won't be bold in your printed novel)

They stared at each other for a long while, their eyes saying the words they dared not speak. The air was thick with the potent energy of lovers discovering each other for the first time. Without breaking contact, Swing leaned back on his pillows and held out a strong hand, inviting and welcoming Alishka to his bed.
As if in a waking dream, Alishka took his hand and stood beside the bed, her hazel eyes never leaving his. Squeezing his hand gently, she let it fall and slowly started to remove her chemise, her body swaying with the sea as it fell away, feeling the cool sea breeze seductively kiss her skin.
His heart seemed to beat outside his body as Swing watched her undress in the moonlight. As each piece of cloth fell and he drank in more of her curvaceous, womanly form, he wondered if a man could ever tire of such a sight. Languidly, she removed the remainder of her undergarments and stood beside his bed, fully exposed and vulnerable, but with a quiet strength that caused Swing to hold his breath.
Slowly and gracefully, she climbed onto his bed, running her hands across his naked chest, relishing the feel of his slim form beneath her fingers. Pressing her body into his, . . .

HA HA HA HA. oh man. you should try it. they are so funny!!

friday, friday, friday, friday.....

1. When will certain things finally happen?

2. Fade by Lisa McMann was the last good book I read!! (or movie I saw or tv show I watched.
)
3. Everything has its beauty but we sometimes don't always notice it at first.

4. Leftover Pinapple Curry from Thai Drift is what I had for dinner last night!

5. I'd like your advice, but i don't know how to ask for it.

6. Disneyland is where I want to be right now.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to NOT unpacking. because i am sick of it., tomorrow my plans include teaching and judging auditions for BU and BU2 and Sunday, I want to meet new people and make new friends at church!

hmmmm....

So...life has been busy as of late.

Moving does that to such a one as I. Someday I'll be able to close my closet door and see the floor of my new room; until then, i'll keep seeing boxes.

so...because i am lazy - a bullet list of events and such :

• something is making me sneezy. i sneeze a lot, loudly, but not super often. if that makes any sense. probably not, but oh well


• i hate moving. boxes are awful.


• i hate cleaning an apt. after moving. stupid managers....


• i have a new car. after the deal-io with Flounder (the cute yellow car) I am now the owner of a 2002 Bronze Toyota Camry that i have dubbed Scuttle. Pictures will be forth coming. If I can ever find my camera.


• i now live 6 minutes (vs. 20) from SwingKid. AWESOME


• i have a good job.


• said job has been busy.


• my head hurts


• my knee needs to heal


• people need to figure out what's going on with teaching and BU2. I'm going crazy here.


• there are 23 days until BYU football kicks off. WOO HOO! GO COUGARS!

that's all for now folks. hopefully i can be more entertaining in the future...

First Friday in August...

so i've been a slacker as of late. even my journal is suffering. i apologize. i've been rather blah lately, but i'll try to pick things up again next week. no promises though, i'm still moving.

1. otter pops are my favorite summertime treat.

2. My favorite John Hughes movies is ?? who the heck is John Hughes??

3. SwingKids' bald head is something I love to touch.

4. The full moon looked so cool w/the smoke from the fire last night. It was orange-red. So awesome.

5. I need a nap right now.

6. When daylight fades the stars come out.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to playing at a cabin w/my dancer peeps!, tomorrow my plans include more cabin playing and an evening w/SwingKid and Sunday, I want to pack the kitchen and take a nice long nap!

an addition...

so, once upon a time i did this "alishka-ology" thing that went around in the blog world. now it's going around on facebook, but so many of the answers are the same, so i'm just doing the last part (since that's new.) see this post for the old stuff.

***************OTHER-OLOGY*****************

1. Do you always answer your phone?
not always. if i don't know the number i ignore it. if it's important, they'll leave a message!

2. Its four in the morning and you get a text message, who is it?
oh man. it's happened before. Sometimes SwingKid and with the time difference, sometimes my parents.

3. If you could change your eye color what would it be?
i wouldn't. my eyes rock.

4. What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic?
i LOVE cranberry limeades. yummy

5. Do you own a digital camera?
yeah. but it's crap

6. Have you ever had a pet fish?
oh yes. good ol' bob the fish. too bad he died.

7. Favorite Christmas song(s):
I heard the bells on Christmas day

8. What's on your wish list for your birthday?
disney movies and a panini maker

9. Can you do push ups?
ha ha ha....ask SwingKid

10. Can you do a chin up?
ha ha ha....nope.

11. Does the future make you more nervous or excited?
oh man. right now? anxious.

12. Do you have any saved texts?
yup. quite a few. most of them are from SwingKid

13. Ever been in a car wreck?
yes. sadly.

14. Do you have an accent?
negatory.

15. What is the last song to make you cry?
um....i can't think of one at the moment.

16.Plans tonight?
uh...probably some packing, moving, unpacking, reading, sleeping...who knows! so many possibilities!!!

17. Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom?
yep, many times

18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday
cafe rio salad, jamba juice, grasshopper killer

19. Have you ever been given roses?
Yes

20. Current worry?
i just realized my check bounced b/c i canceled that set, and i've written a few more since then and i need to take care of it at lunch and i hope they don't try to cash said checks before i fix it.

21. Current hate right now?
MOVING

22. Met someone who changed your life?
Yes, too many to count!

23. How will you bring in the New Year?
I hope partying!

24. What song represents you?
oh man. way too many.

25. Name three people who might complete this?
eh. why? i have no idea

26. Would you go back in time if you were given the chance?
for one thing, yes.

27. Have you ever dated someone longer than a year?
actually, i have!

28. Does anyone love you?
yup. lots of people.

29. Ever had someone sing to you?
on occasion.

30. When did you last cry?
Friday

31. Do you like to cuddle?
who doesn't?

32. Have you held hands with anyone today?
not yet.

33. Are most of the friends in your life new or old?
old

34. Do you like pulpy orange juice?
no. i don't. i like mine smooth and creamy...sometimes w/just a little bit of pulp

the good...

SO! There does come good things from moving. In my case, one of these good things is the fact that b/c my apartment is unfurnished, I get to bring my queen size bed that has been in storage for the past year. woo hoo! Because I am moving up into the big bed world, I needed a new bedspread.

I've been very happy with my brightly colored daisy comforter set, but I wanted something nicer and more sophisticated. I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond last night with Sister B and we picked up this fun, cute, adorable bed spread:
It came with the comforter, sheets, bed skirt, pillow cases and pillow sham cases AND two decorative pillows. It's super cute and I'm really excited to put it on my bed and decorate the rest of my room in browns and pinks and other fun things. :o) Now I just need a bookcase...