oh the joys....

There are so many things I could complain about today, but I'm not going to. Instead, I'm going to not complain and instead think happy thoughts while I share with you my outfit for today's 21 Day Challenge. It's Day 17 and the challenge was to take something from your repair pile, fix it and then wear it.

Problem: I don't have a repair pile. I have had one in the past...but the last item in said pile was my favorite black pencil skirt. It didn't last more than 5 days in that repair pile. That was a month ago. (I think I'm just lucky right now nothing needs fixing or anything.) So what's a girl to do when she can't really heed to the challenge set before? She emails the founder of said challenge! Kayla was fabulous and offered an alternative challenge: Break a fashion rule. Oh man. I was all excited to do this...and then I started googling fashion rules. There are so many variations on fashion rules and what's okay and what isn't. However - I decided to break the one fashion rule that makes me shiver whenever I think about breaking it - wearing black and brown together. Now, I've read a lot of things in the past 24 hours and there are many fashionistas out there that say this is okay. They're both neutrals, wear them together, be brave. And...well...I can't help but think that said fashionistas are a little CRAZY. I even bug my mom for wearing black and brown together - and she does it subtly with just a brown belt and a black skirt or something. She's going to roll her eyes and then say I TOLD YOU SO when she sees today's outfit...so without further ado: my fashion rule breaking outfit

{leopard print top: JC Penney's black shorts: Banana Republic}

So there you go - brown leopard print (I swear there is no black in that top...AT ALL) top with a black tank top and black shorts. I paired this with some brown accessories (watch, bracelets, flip flops) and off I went. I'm feeling....okay about it. Will I do this on a regular basis? Probably not. Am I worried what people think when I'm out and about today? A little bit. Will I still mock my mother for wearing brown and black together? Probably. ;) It's just the way I roll. Also - let's make note of this style of shirt - I have like 5 shirts in this style all in different colors, patterns, and slightly different necklines. I LOVE this style of shirt. I super cute in it and I KNOW it makes me look good. That's all. ;)

Have a great Wednesday y'all!!

Tender Mercy Tuesday - 36th Edition

My tender mercy comes from my run last night. I rolled my ankle (not badly) about half way through. There was some pain, but as I walked it out, I considered just calling it quits and going home. It was my first run outside in a long time and I was mad at myself for not being more careful being outside. However, as I was walking in a circle, I decided that the pain wasn't that bad and that I could move forward and finish my planned run.

So I did. My ankle is still a little sore this morning - but there's no major bruising and the swelling seems to be non-existent. I feel like this is a huge tender mercy. I'm trying so hard to get myself into good cardio shape and to just be healthy overall. I very easily could've blown my ankle injury out of proportion and allowed myself to give up, but I didn't. I am so glad that I had the strength and the confidence to run it out. When I finally got back to my car, it felt good knowing that I had finished what I had set out to do.

:o)

In other news, today is Day 16 of the 21 Day Challenge and the prompt for today is: Menswear.  I thought about this one a lot yesterday afternoon/evening. I own a "boyfriend" shirt that is super comfy, but it's half-ish sleeved and just not something I want to wear when it's going to be 90+ degrees today. Instead, I dug into my closet and pulled out a tie that I borrowed from Dad ages ago to wear to school one day, and never gave it back. I love this tie, but hadn't worn it in a long time so I figured it would work for today's prompt.

{shirt and pants: Target tie: my dad}

The pants are a brown plaid with a hint of teal to them and the shirt is an awesome steel gray. Pair that with the maroon skinny tie and I feel like this outfit is a winner! I didn't button up my shirt all the way, mostly because I wanted to have that relaxed feel, plus I hate feeling like I'm being choked. :o)

Good Morning!

Good morning everyone!!! Even though I am saddened at the thought of a 9-hour work day, at my desk, inside....I had such a GREAT weekend, that I'm happy. Also, I've decided that I'm going to work on one of my Day Zero goals this week: Don't complain about anything for a week. I'm a pretty optimistic person, but there are times when I complain about EVERYTHING! So...this week I'm going to consciously make an effort to not complain about work, my love life, or the weather. I think I can handle that. I am allowed to voice my complaints on how sore I am after working out. ;) But basically I want to not be a sour puss, or a pessimistic person this week. I think it will be a good exercise for me. :o)

In other news, I have a new crush at church. His 'nym: Surfer Boy. :o) We went to a concert in the park randomly Saturday evening and then back to his ADORABLE house (that he owns!) to watch a surfing movie. He also came over to game night last night. Some of you might be wondering about other men in my life. They've pretty much all fallen off the face of the earth - although BM2 might resurface and Grizzly Bear is....confusing. It's okay though! I'm having the time of my life and it's great fun. :o)

Today is Day 15 of the 21 Day Challenge. I am going to be sad to see this challenge end. It has been such great fun to use style prompts to get ready in the morning. It has definitely helped me to add variety and newness to my wardrobe. Today's challenge was to do something new with your hair. I LOVE experimenting with my hair. I was using Pinterest one day and I discovered this blog with lots of cute hair ideas. I couldn't watch her tutorial for the hair do I went with and I wasn't wanting to pay for it...so I just looked at the picture and did my best to recreate it. I like how it turned out. :o) A great way to hide very dirty hair that I didn't feel like washing this morning....shhhh...don't tell anyone.  The result!

{3 buns! I love it. A great summer hairdo!}

And for your viewing pleasure, the outfit I wore with this hair do:

{plaid shirt w/belt: JC Penny paired with a brown shirt from Walmart, shorts: thrifted and cut off by yours truly}

For cute, right?! :o) I am a huge fan of JC Penny's these days. It's one of my favorite places to shop - but not for dresses. I want a cute new dress, but I don't want to pay an arm and a leg for it. It might just have to wait until Christmas though. sigh. C'est la vie.

Well....that's all from me dear friends. I hope you have the best Monday in the world. and just as a reminder...there are only 5 days until BYU Football kicks off their first season as an independent! I am SO EXCITED!!!!!! Have a great day y'all!

Day 14

What a Sunday today has been! So busy! I do love it, but it is very tiring at the same time. My weekend pretty much seems to have disappeared, but I have had a blast. :o)

Anywho, today's outfit prompt was to copy someone. I've seen a lot of this one style and when I went shopping with Sister B I wanted to add this outfit to my wardrobe. So, I sort of cheated and bought most of my outfit today, but here's the deal - I have plans on many ways to wear the top/accessories that I went with and I'm okay with the fact that I bought this shirt and necklace yesterday and made it work.

So, I've seen a lot of people wearing things like the following:

{a shirt like the one here}

{a necklace like this}

I've always wanted to try it. So...when shopping with my sister i tried on things that reflected the images above and styled my outfit like so:

{top and necklace: JC Penny, skirt: roommate's from Gap}

So...I really LOVE this top. Also, I was never sure if I could pull off this style of necklace, but I took the risk...and I'm VERY happy with result.  I wore this shirt over a blue downeast top, but I could so wear it with jeans, paired with boots, oh so many ways! Also, it came with a belt, but I ditched it by the time I got home from church. I was just done with wearing a belt at that point. ;) I think it looks cute both ways! Go me!!

Day 13

Today's outfit for Day 13 went pretty well. I went with a black neutral base and a pink sweater accent. Very chic, me thinks. :o)

Day 12

I just love my days off. So far today I have: slept in, gone to the gym, and watched Project Runway. Which, if you didn't see, my sweet friend who was booted off in week 2 is back again! This made my heart SO SO SO happy. :o)

Also - the gym? It was hard. Day 2 always is, but I rocked it out and finished strong. Week 4 day 2 was the same workout as Day 1, so my results are basically the same.:

I'm pretty happy with myself!

As far as the 21 Day challenge goes, today's Day 12 challenge is to jazz up the jeans. I love jeans. I really do. I wear them all the time. :o) So...here's my outfit!

{shorts: thrifted and altered by moi shirt: JC Penny}

I'm pretty happy with the look. Chic, but casual. :o)

I hope all y'all are having the most marvelous Friday. The weekend is here (or almost here for some of you) and I hope you rock it hard core! Still on my agenda: a visit to the temple, get my car inspected for registration, get my car detailed for its birthday present, drop off a birthday card for Grizzly Bear and decide on what I want to do with my evening - because I have options!! :o)

Love all of you. Hugs!

It a new day, a new dawn....

and I'm feelin'.....good! Oh my. I just love Michael Buble. He makes my heart quiver with joy. He's the best. :o)

I am seriously feeling so good right now! Part of that is because I got my hair done last night and I just love it. I went a dark, chestnut brown with red highlights and new bangs and it just looks fantastic, if I do say so myself. Let's move on to some Thursday things shall we? I have plenty for ya!

• Not only do I have new hair, but on Saturday I am going shopping with Sister B to get a few new items of clothing. Life will be good with new elements to my wardrobe. :o)

• Speaking of wardrobe, I am LOVING the 21 Day Challenge! It has been SO fabulous for me and I'm discovering new ways to wear things that I already have in my closet. It is rocking my socks!

• Speaking of the 21 Day Challenge, today is Day 11 and the challenge was to wear a dress or skirt. Easy enough! I love wearing skirts, especially during the summer. Keeps me cool. :o) Today I not only wore a skirt, but I went with remixing my item from Day 1. So without further ado, my outfit:
  

  

  {skirt: my roommate's from Gap, shirt: Kohls/DownEast, belt: Papaya}

  
  

  I sort of love this...Tucking in this shirt does feel weird and I feel like it does funny things...sort of. Overall, I like it. I added a pop of color with my bright pink heels (which you can't see). I almost wore my pink belt that I have...but it just didn't flow right.

• I love pencil skirts (which is what I'm wearing today.) They make my heart happy.

• I don't work tomorrow. This makes me SUPER happy.

• I am teaching my company for the first time tonight and I'm rather excited. It will be fun times for sure.

• I've mentioned this a few times this week, but I just can't contain my excitement. I'm going dancing tonight!!! Oh yes! This just might be the highlight of my week!

• I'm in love with Instagram. It is so fun to play with.

• I went grocery shopping last night and then made taco meat. I froze some of it for future meals and then ate a taco salad. Yummy.

• Work is insane. It's driving me crazy.

• This week's running schedule is sort of crazy. I'm trying to decide what is going to work best. It's a little up in the air.

• However, going running means I get to wear my awesome new, bright pink running shoes and that just gets me all excited.

• I have tickets to a UVU Volleyball game tomorrow night. I want to go, but not by myself. I need to find a friend to go with me.

I think that's all for now. Pretty much, I am loving today - even if work is insane and driving me to be slightly cynical. :P Oh well...c'est la vie!

FINALLY!!!

I am so happy today is finally here! I have  been waiting impatiently for today for 3 weeks now! See...3 weeks ago today I was supposed to get my hair done. That's my normal 8 week time period and I'm usually ready to get my roots taken care of by then. However, three weeks ago I had the final dress rehearsal for AIDA and was unable to go to my hair appointment and so I had to reschedule. Because of the show and my hair dresser's schedule...the next available appointment was tonight at 5:30pm. I am SO so SO excited to finally get my hair done! I haven't really done much with my hair this week  because I've been hating on it. I'm excited to feel cute again!

In other news today is Day 10 of the 21 Day Challenge. Today's challenge was to find a "closet orphan" aka something that you never wear and save it. Well....here's why this challenge was hard for me - about 7 months ago I went through my closet and turned all the hangars one way. In the next few months Every time I wore a shirt - I turned the hangar the other way so down the road I could see what shirts I wasn't wearing. I then, in May or so, went through my entire closet and got rid of everything that was, basically, a closet orphan. The only exception to this was my work shirt and a few skirts that are super fancy that I don't wear that often, but still fit and I still love. So what's a girl to do? Well...I went with my work shirt. It's a Land's End shirt and when I got it, it was very much too big for me. I had my mom take it in for me, but it still fit funny. I can count on one hand how many times I've worn this shirt in the past 2 years. My biggest beef with this shirt is that it seems to ride up when I'm sitting, so I'm constantly readjusting and that's just annoying. Since doing day two, though and discovering that I can pull of the whole tucking in thing, I decided to try that to see if I can love this shirt more seeing as how I'd love to get rid of it, but probably shouldn't. Here's the result:

{shirt: Land's End w/work logo, pants: JC Penny} {I realize it's sort of cut off the collar...sorry, I was in a hurry this morning - running late!}

I actually really like this outfit and I definitely like this shirt more now that I see it on my tucked in. I've always loved the color, so maybe now I'll wear it a little  bit more often. ;) I think pairing it with these higher waisted (no pockets, HATE that about these pants) gray slacks definitely helped out. I feel super long and lean, which I'm not on a normal basis - so yay for me!

Anywho, there you go! I'm loving this challenge. It's definitely pushing me, and my closet, to new heights. Now, here's hoping the work day goes quickly and smoothly so I can enjoy sitting in the salon tonight. :o) Ciao!

Tender Mercy Tuesday - 35th Edition

I have been thinking a lot the past few days on what I wanted to post about for my Tender Mercy Tuesday today. I was struggling with finding something to share that would be appropriate, but nothing was coming to mind. Then yesterday happened. Friday was a really awful day at work and I was not looking forward to coming into work yesterday. However, I knew that we should be fully staffed and that would make a huge difference from Friday where I was the only customer service specialist in the office. Well...my one coworker called in sick. So we were only partially staffed yesterday. It ended up being an okay day - and I attribute it to the fact that I was able to find the good in things as the day went on. This isn't always the easiest thing in the world to do, but finding the good in life has always been a talent of mine and I was glad I was able to put it to good use yesterday. blessings. :o)

In other news: I bought new running shoes last night. They are hot pink and full of awesome. See?

I think they made me run better last night than I would have otherwise. :o) After a 2-month hiatus from the gym, I got my butt on the treadmill and pounded out Day 1 of Week 4 of the Couch 2 5k program. With my warm up/cool down this is what the treadmill said I did:

I feel pretty good about that. I'm a little sore this morning, but as I saw my pink shoes on the floor of my bedroom, a part of me wanted to go running again today! Even though today is not a running day. :o) I think the pink shoes are going to be good for me! huzzah!

Finally, today is Day Nine of the 21 Day Challenge. I took a HUGE risk today and I'm pretty sure I look like some sort of vegetable today, but I wanted to push the envelope on Monochrome outfit day. So...without further ado, my outfit:

{skirt: made for my sister's wedding by my mom, jacket: BYU bookstore, shirt: DownEast bracelet: Gardner Village. not pictured: headband sash made to match skirt and earrings: green discs from claire's}

I'm pretty sure I look like a green bean, or lettuce or something. I am not sure I'd ever wear a monochrome outfit like this again...but who knows. maybe? I'm just not sure how I feel about it. I can wear mostly black, mostly brown all the time, but any other color and it makes me nervous. sigh. Anyways. There's Day 9!

It's Tuesday, and that means first day of ballet classes! woo hoo! Here's hoping you all have a great second day of the week! ciao!

hello monday!

Hello friends! This week is full of new and exciting things and as much as I LOVE my weekends, I was really excited to get through it so I could attack this week with vigor. :o)

Things that I am doing this week:

• continuing to work on the 21 day challenge. This week's prompts look like a lot fun while still being challenging for me. Watch for my outfits each day!

• While ballet classes for my studio officially started on Thursday, I was out performing at BYU Education week, so I had a sub. My first official classes of the year are tomorrow and I'm stoked for the new year! I'm teaching a new class this year and I am just so excited!

• I'm getting my hair done on Wednesday. I have never looked forward to a Wednesday so much in my life! My hair is driving me bonkers and I am excited to feel cute again.

• I don't work on Friday. I'm not sure all what I'm going to do that day, but I'm just excited to not have to work.

• I am going to Blue Tango on Thursday! I haven't been to Blue Tango in way too long due to the musical and I am so excited to see my friends again and dance the night away with them.

• I am going shopping with Sister B! I love shopping and my sister. So going shopping with her is a pretty awesome thing to have happen!

• I am getting back into my exercise regimen starting TODAY. I am going to do the couch 2 5k program again, but I'm starting on week 4. I've already scheduled the time in my calendar for when I'm going to the gym so there WILL be NO excuses. :o)

Doesn't that sound like an exciting week? I sure think so!! And now, the moment you've all been waiting for......Day 8 of the 21 Day Challenge! Mixing fancy with casual...I struggled trying to pick out an outfit - especially one that  I could be comfortable in all day at work. I almost went with a different top with jeans, but then I settled on this outfit:

{top w/belt: Papaya, jeans: DEB}

I LOVE this top. I feel so super cute in it and it's the first official outfit that I belted - mostly because it came with the belt. This top feels fancy to me and I always wear it with slacks or a black pencil skirt - but I totally dig it with jeans. One day I'm going to try mixing the fancy and casual with jeans and my Japanese top that I made....but not today. :o)

and.....that's all folks! Nothin' much is happenin' these days. Grizzly Bear and I are still friends....I think he still likes me, but he needs to ask me out on a date in order for me to want to be with him more. And really....that's about it. :o) until tomorrow dear ones!!

day 7

Today's Challenge: layer accessories.

Not going to lie, this was my least favorite challenge to date. I layer bracelets all the time...but any other accessory, it just doesn't happen. I wanted to push myself with this challenge, and so just layering bracelets felt like cheating to me (although i'm sure it isn't). Sooooo....I tried the layering necklace thing. I did it....but I'm not sure I loved it. That's okay though, because for me, this is all about pushing my boundaries on what I normally do. :o) the results:

{necklaces: one target, the other a gift skirt: my roommate's, top: DownEast, belt: JCPenny
bracelets: two gifts one american eagle}

So....there you go. This next week's list of challenges looks interesting, I hope I'm up for the challenge! :o)

day 6

Day 6: Unconventional. Aka wear something in a a creative way. Today's outfit i had envisioned one thing...and then I changed it to this:

{shorts: thrifted and modified by me, shirts: downeast, belt: a tie from my dad, bracelets: American Eagle necklace}

I love this tie, but never really wear it as a tie! I decided to try my hand at having it as a belt today, which meant I needed to tuck in my shirts. I mostly liked this look. It worked for my Saturday of teacher meetings and running errands. :o)

P.S. Closing night ROCKED the house! I'll write more about it when I have more time. ;)

disappearing act

so remember how I was SO excited about my date with BM2? Well he called me yesterday on my lunch break to cancel. Basically he told me he wasn't in a place to date right now, he doesn't want to lead me on so we're not going out this weekend or anytime in the very near future. We're going to stay friends because he thinks I'm awesome and stuff. Plus he said he wants to be ready to date soon and when he is we might try things out then. So for now...we're friends and we'll hang out in the future and stuff. (and before you freak out and say, "Why Alishka, why?" or "He's just stupid." He had very good, personal reasons that he shared with me that I'm not gong to share with you. so there.)

while I was initially very much saddened by this turn of events, I think it's going to be good. I told my mom and one of the first things she said to me was the following: "With as many guys as let you go suddenly, Heavenly Father must have someone very special for you that isn't quite ready."

I tend to agree with my mommy. She's usually right. ;) Also, my life has kind of been a crazy roller coaster lately. I've come >this< close to having an emotional break-down for the stupidest reasons, but then again, that's how I roll. See I let the smallest things - the tiniest thorns inbed themselves inside of me and then they fester, because they're small and practically non-existent, I ignore them. Before long there is a huge collection of thorns inside of me and then the stupidest thing will push me over and I'll just break. I was sort of there at the beginning of this week. I need to be better about not letting things fester, and it's a goal of mine to do this.

Anyways, the point of me telling you all of this is I'm not going to worry about dating for a while. In fact, I'm kind of going to just step away. I'm going to continue my friendships with people I know and I plan on doing fun things all the time. However, I need to find my balance again. The musical has definitely thrown off my balance and with the ballet school year in full swing I need to figure out how life is going to go. I have major responsibilitiesat church and work and I need o put some focus on those things and make sure I'm not letting any balls drop. This does not mean that I'm just going to stop dating - if a boy asks me out I'll say yes. I'm just not going to worry about it at all. Nor am I going to renew my subscription on the dating site I've been using.

I think that's all I want to say about the subject for now. :o) Have a great day y'all!

CLOSING NIGHT!!!!

I can't believe that it is CLOSING NIGHT. Unbelievable! The time has just flown. It feels like yesterday I was auditioning and then finding out that I had made the cast. In reality the entire time I've been doing stuff for the musical has spanned about two months. I have loved making new friends, learning new things, and performing the same show several bazillion times. I've never done a show so many times in my life and, in my mind, it definitely makes all those crazy hours of rehearsal worth it.

ANYWAYS. I know tonight is going to be bittersweet, but I'm ready to move on to other new and exciting things that I know life is going to send my way.

Not only is today closing night of Aida, but it is also Day 5 of the 21 Day Challenge. It was a "belt it" challenge and I knew once I saw this prompt that this challenge wasn't going to be hard for me. I have several tops that have belts that come with them and look super duper cute on me. However, I wanted to try something a tad different, so I pulled a belt that I haven't worn in like 7 years (it doesn't fit like a normal belt on my pants anymore) and paired it with a shirt that I never belt. The look works, I think, and I just might try something like this again!

{short: thrifted pants that I changed into shorts top: DownEast belt: Target? I have no idea...}

I think this works rather well. And I'm not wearing a skirt!!! ha ha ha. :o) Anyways, I'm going to finish this post with a Friday Fill-Ins. Just Because. :o)

1. It's fun to dance around your house in your underwear. Haven't tried it yet? I highly recommend it.

2. Rhubarb crisp is easy to make.

3. I like to be organized and on top of life.

4. I sometimes wonder about things that I will never know!

5. Something I'm very much excited about is the change of seasons. While summer has been all too short around here, I'm excited for the smells and sights of Fall.

6. Auditioning and then participating in the musical was well worth it.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to closing night and the ward campout (I think I'm going), tomorrow my plans include a meeting, a mani/pedi, and some chick flicks and chocolate and Sunday, I want to feel accomplished and put together!

a sleepy Thursday

Dearest internet friends, I am so excited that it is Thursday! Let's do this thing and get through my muddled thoughts shall we?

• First off, I was a stupid girl last night and started a new book - Unsticky by Sarra Manning. You know it's a good book when you stay up reading for 2.5 hours and get half way through. I'm dying right now because 1) I'm sleep deprived and 2) the book is at home and I'm at work. TORTURE!

• We only have TWO more performances of AIDA. I'm going to be sad to see the show end, but at the same time I'll be glad to have some sense of normalcy in my life. If normal is even possible. :o)

• Speaking of AIDA, we had a SOLD OUT audience at BYU last night. It was INCREDIBLE. They were an amazing audience that laughed, clapped, cheered, etc. It was so great.

• I am totally rocking the 21 Day Challenge. Day 4's challenge is Color Blocking. I realized while putting this outfit together that my only really colorful, solid colored bottoms (skirts, pants, short, etc) are skirts. I don't really have brightly colored bottoms - mostly neutrals. So, even though I've worn a skirt the past two days, making today day three (I promise I do wear pants!) I chose the following outfit:
  
  

  

  {skirt: thrifted, jacket/shirt: modbe outlet tank: downeast}

  The colors are a lot brighter than this picture shows. I couldn't get a good picture no matter how I tried, and seeing as how I got ready for work in like ten minutes this morning, I just didn't have time to try to get a better picture. oh well. The skirt is a bright pink and the top a bright spring green. The top was only $5 at the Modbe outlet center in Springville. Love that place. All in all, I'm counting today as a success!

• I've had two of my guy friends in the past 24 hours tell me that I look really good these  days and that they both think I've lost weight. I think they're smoking something because I actually feel the grossest I've felt since my sister's wedding....but still, it is nice to get complimented. 

• This weekend is turning out to be quite busy. After closing night on Friday there's a combined ward campout with the neighboring ward in our stake. I'm not sure I'm going to go over to it at all....but I might. I also plan on being girly this weekend and treating myself to a mani/pedi because man alive do I need one!!

• Also this weekend, I have a third date with Blindman2. I think he needs a new name....I'll think of something one of these days. We're actually going out on our own, without our mutual friends of Truit and Truit's husband. While I love Truit and her husband, I'm excited for it to just be me and BM2 (maybe I'll just abbreviate it?) so we can better get to know each other and see how things flow. Also... this date got set up a month ago because our schedules just weren't gellin'. The anticipation for this date has been killing me.

• Percy and I continue to have a conflict of schedules...I think we're going to shoot for sometime next week.

• I have such great guy friends! The Australian came last night with his sister and friend from Japan to my musical. It was SO GOOD to see him, since I haven't seen him since rehearsals started with the musical two months ago. Basically, I love The Australian and seeing him made me happy.

• What else do I need to tell you.....oh! Ballet classes start today. I have a sub for my class tonight because of AIDA at BYU. I'm sort of sad that I have to have a sub for my first company class....but oh well. It will be all good later.

• Also, just because I feel like you need to know: Peanut Butter M&Ms combined with Dark Chocolate M&Ms is the BEST combination in the whole wide world!! If you know what's good for you, you'll trust me when I tell you to go by a bag of each and put them together in your mouth. You can thank me later.

• I want cupcakes SOOOO bad  right now. I have a Groupon for the Sweet Tooth Fairy and I think I might need to cash that in this weekend. :o)

Well....I think that's all for now folks. I hope your Thursday goes splendidly. :o) Cheerio!

Wednesdayness

In past years I haven't really been a fan of Wednesdays. They just aren't usually the best of days. Last Wednesday was a decent day - it was my first day off during the week that I'd had in a long time. Today's Wednesday has started off dealing with a ticked off customer and moved into lots of tasks to accomplish. I'm hoping the work day moves quickly so I can get into performance mode. Last night's show felt like a glorified dress rehearsal (aka a dress rehearsal with a sold out audience - well....almost sold out) but it went well for the most part and it's a different feeling inside the de Jong concert hall vs the outsideness of the SCERA Shell. I will say this - dancing on a real floor is nicer than concrete although it is different to turn on and I wasn't amazing last night. I will be better tonight!!!

In other news it is Day 3 of the 21 Day Challenge. Today's challenge? Mixing patterns. Oh man was I ever so nervous for this challenge! Like my dear friend Hilary, mixing patterns scares the bejeebers out of me. Something I realized last night as I was planning my outfit...I don't wear a ton of patterned clothes. At least, not patterns that can mix with each other - meaning they are completely different color schemes, etc. BUT! I did find an outfit that I actually like quite a bit and I'll probably wear it again in the future. So without further ado.....I present my Day 3 outfit

skirt: custom made by my mommy, top: Kohls/downeast tank

So this is a pale blue skirt with emobroidered flowers all over it - the thread goes from white light blue, to teal, to dk blue to black. The top is teal, blue, yellow, aqua and white. I love both these pieces but usually pair the skirt with a plain blue, teal, or black top and the top I usually pair with black slacks or pencil skirt. As nervous as I was for this outfit, I very much like it. I feel confident, sassy and cute. I would have paired it with my awesome teal heels, but my feet are tired from the show today so instead I went with my black gladiator sandals instead. :o)

Happy Wednesday all y'all! Have a great day!!

Tender Mercy Tuesday - 34th Edition

Hello dearest internet friends. Here we are, another

I just love Tuesdays. Sometimes. Tonight is our first night performing at BYU in the de Jong concert hall. I am SUPER stoked to get to perform in this venue. We were on stage last night for just a short while and it definitely felt different.

My tender mercy this week has been the fact that last week was temple week. Temple week was the most marvelous thing for me and I spent time both at the temple, in the temple, and at home studying. Having my focus being on the temple last week was wonderful. I got to spend time with several of my friends at the temple both outside just sitting on the grounds and then in the temple doing work for our ancestors. Such a wodnerful week. I hope to have more weeks like that in my future. It will be great times.

In other news, today is Day 2 of the 21 Day Challenge. I'm sorry if you get sick about hearing about this and you don't come here for fashion. BUT I'm trying to do the whole challenge and one way I'm keeping myself honest about it is by blogging about it. Don't hate okay? :o)

Anywho, today's challenge is to tuck it in. I'll be honest. I hardly ever tuck a shirt in. I just don't like to do it. 90% of my shirts are tunics/blouses that I just wear untucked. (because I think they look best that way) I struggled trying to pick a shirt that I thought would look good tucked in and finally picked the following outfit:

{shirt: JCPenny/DownEast tank, skirt: Walmart (i think?) Belt: I have no idea}

So yeah, this shirt is a half-sleeved snap (i love snaps!) up shirt that is super cute and tailored and I have never worn it tucked in...until today. The great thing about this is that I wore a belt - which I don't do often because you'd actually be able to see it! I through on some flip flops with this outfit...also, pretend I made my bed this morning okay? And there we go! I think Day 2 has been a success and now I know I can tuck a shirt in and I won't die! :o)

Hello Monday

Well....we had what I am calling "Closing Night Part One" on Saturday night. It was a crazy night with a microburst storm attacking us about 20 minutes into the show. Luckily for us this microburst was just wind and no rain and the show went on! Huzzah!

Yesterday was an emotional day for me. I was exhausted physically and there was a lot on my mind so I quickly got exhausted emotionally. When I went to bed last night shortly after 10:30pm I was a mess. Luckily, I read this amazing talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "Because of Your Faith ." This talk was exactly what I needed to hear last night. I slept like a rock (I guess there was a crazy rain storm early this morning - I didn't hear a thing!) Today should be a good day, albeit insanely busy.

In other news, today is Day One of the 21 Day Challenge. This week's prompts were posted on Saturday and yesterday the first in depth post for day one was posted. Today's challenge is to pick an item of clothing to Remix during this challenge. I love the idea of remixing and already have plans to do my own remixing challenge once I've finished this 21 day challenge. My item of clothing that I picked to remix: a sheer white shirt. I bought this shirt originally for Sister B's wedding but then decided I hated it (well, at least for her wedding). I want to wear it more so it's my remix item. Today I'm wearing it paired with my favorite pair of jeans, a green DownEast cap sleeved shirt and a pair of  flats that are flowery.

(shoes not pictured)

This is how I normally wear this shirt....so here's hoping I can figure out a few different ways to wear it in the next three weeks!! :o)

In other news it's the audition for my ballet company today - I can't believe summer vacation is basically over. Classes start this week. I'm excited for the new year, but wishing I had about 3 more weeks of no ballet classes and no musical....oh well! The musical has definitely been fun times and I am SO glad that I got to participate in it. Although at this point, I'm not going to lie, I'm excited for it to be over. We're at BYU's Education Week and I believe there are still a few tickets available if you haven't gotten the opportunity to see me perform yet. :o)

I think that's all folks. At least for now. :o) I am so scatter-brained that I'm sure I'm forgetting something....but that's how I feel about 90% of the time these days. :P Have a great Monday!

I'm such a girl

in case you didn't know that already. :o)

I was listening to songs on my iPod the other day while working away on stuff. I think I was at work, but I don't really remember at this moment. Anyways, it doesn't really matter because the point is that I was listening to some tunes and the song "Fearless" by Taylor Swift came on. I love me some Taylor Swift. You might hate me because I just said that, but I won't take it back. Her stuff is clean, fun to sing along with, and I can often relate to her lyrics.

Anyways, I was listening to "Fearless" and I realized how much I want to be that way - fearless. In everything I do, but mostly in relationships. I thought I was hunky dory all fine and dandy after SwingKid broke up with me, but I've recently realized that I am in no hurry to get into anything super serious. I want to have a boyfriend - but I want the timing to be right. AND I want him to instill certain feelings in my heart and soul. I want to feel like I can do anything when I am with him. I want to be...dare I say it? FEARLESS.

There's somethin' 'bout the way the street looks when it's just rained
There's a glow off the pavement, you walk me to the car
And you know I wanna ask you to dance right there
In the middle of the parking lot, yeah

We're drivin' down the road, I wonder if you know
I'm tryin' so hard not to get caught up now
But you're just so cool, run your hands through your hair
Absent-mindedly makin' me want you

And I don't know how it gets better than this
You take my hand and drag me headfirst, fearless
And I don't know why but with you I dance
In a storm in my best dress, fearless

So baby drive slow 'til we run out of road
In this one horse town, I wanna stay right here
In this passenger seat, you put your eyes on me
In this moment, now capture it, remember it

'Cause I don't know how it gets better than this
You take my hand and drag me headfirst, fearless
And I don't know why but with you I'd dance
In a storm in my best dress, fearless

Well, you stood there with me in the doorway
My hands shake, I'm not usually this way
But you pull me in and I'm a little more brave
It's the first kiss, it's flawless, really somethin'
It's fearless

'Cause I don't know how it gets better than this
You take my hand and drag me headfirst, fearless
And I don't know why but with you I'd dance
In a storm in my best dress, fearless

'Cause I don't know how it gets better than this
You take my hand and drag me headfirst, fearless And I don't know why but with you I'd dance
In a storm in my best dress, fearless 

So, basically, I'm just a girl who wants to feel breathless, excited, and fearless around the man of her dreams. Have I met the man of my dreams? I have no idea. It's quite possible I have. At the same time, he could still be out there, waiting for me. I'm in no rush to run off and get married. While I'd love for it to happen to me, I know that I am exactly where I need to be in my life. I'm not supposed to be married right now. I have other responsibilities and tasks that I must complete first. So for right now, I'm just going to keep on doing what I do, enjoying and LIVING my life the way I like to live it until the right man can get me to dance in the storm, in my best dress.

yeah, I'm a girl...and proud of it!

THURSDAY!!!!!

oh my goodness gracious. It is an insane Thursday around these parts. I just might go crazy by the end of the day. Don't believe me? Ask the dishes! (name that movie! ;) )

Anyways, there are some random things I want to make sure to mention, so let's get this week's edition of Thursday Things going!!

• first off, Kayla from Freckles in April is sponsoring this 21 Day Challenge.  BASICALLY what is going down is Kayla is going to post outfit prompts and inspiration to help us all look more put together and such. I LOVE this idea. I browse Pinterest all the time and find great outfit ideas, but then I can never figure out how to make my own closet work for me. I'm hoping this 21 day challenge will help me out. ALSO she's been working with some AMAZING companies and will have several prizes for participants. So, you should get on the band wagon yo, or not and let me have more of a chance of wining! ;)

•  Next up is a reminder that the next three days are our last performances of AIDA at the SCERA Shell. :o) This show is incredible and you definitely need to come and see it. Just a reminder, we will be performing at BYU Education next week, so if for some reason you've already got weekend plans...just come next week! woot!

• Let's see....what else? Oh yeah! I have plans this weekend! I am so excited about said plans. I have a temple trip tomorrow with people from my ward, a lunch date, and then some of my FAVORITE people are coming to the show tomorrow night and we're going out afterwards. I am really excited about that!

• I didn't have a show last night, but that didn't mean I wasn't busy! I did, however, get to bed earlier than what has been "normal" and I loved getting an extra hour or so of sleep. 

• Auditions for my ballet company are on Monday and I'm really excited to see the talent that will be coming into my company for this next year. :o) Huzzah!

• What else is happening that I wanted to tell you about..................oh yeah! I've been thinking really hard about hair ideas for my next appointment. I've loved my hair for the past little while but I'm just....bored with it. So I think I'm going to go for something like these pictures:  

I like the color for the one on the left, and the cut for the one on the right. thoughts?

•  Today it was a person's birthday at work and his family brought him an awesome birthday package that included pop rocks for him to share with the company. I haven't had pop rocks in AGES. They are SO FUN!!!

I think that's all for now....Have a great rest of your Thursday dear friends!

Tender Mercy Tuesday - 33rd Edition

Good Morning friends! It is Tuesday and I am wishing that I could still be in bed for just one more hour of sleep. That sounds like heaven to me.

Since it is a Tuesday morning, that means we have another lovely edition of Tender Mercy Tuesday. I am feeling so very blessed today. Last night we performed our show and while it didn't feel perfect to me, it was a good show nonetheless. My favorite part, and I think this is true for every kind of show I have ever done, is seeing people I know after the show is over. I had several friends come last night, some that I knew were coming and some that I didn't know were coming. I love knowing that there is someone in the audience clapping specifically for me. It's just very thrilling for me. While I didn't think it would be a big deal if someone wasn't there to see me specifically, I have found it to be a big boost to my attitude/energy if I know someone is watching me. Anyways, basically I feel very loved with all the people who have already come to the show and those who have told me they are coming in the next few days. It is a great thing to be loved and I hope that someday I can return the favor.

A Full Weekend of Everything

I think the only thing I DIDN'T do this weekend was go on a date. HA! I feel like I did everything else under the sun. Saturday felt productive even though I didn't do a ton of things. Nights two and three of Aida went so well. Each audience has just improved upon the one the night before. I am looking forward to this week of performances. Part of me will be sad when it is over, but at the same time I'll be glad to have my evenings back - sort of. See, ballet classes start next week while we're performing at BYU Education week. :o) So basically I go from performing every evening to teaching. However, I love teaching and I'm looking forward to doing that again.

What else happened - oh I had my first Sunday as Relief Society president. That was scary and a little overwhelming. There is so much to do all the time, I have to tell myself to take breaks or else I'll overdue myself and that's not a good thing.

This week our stake is having a Stake Temple Week. This is where we focus on all aspects of temple work. I am VERY excited about this! Temple week is always full of great things and happenings. I've planned a temple trip and breakfast with several of my ward friends and I am excited to go to the temple with them. It will be good times.

hmmmm...what else should I tell you about my weekend...I think that's it. Basically. All I do right now is perform Aida, work my day job and do my best to fulfill my calling. C'est la vie!

the morning after

Opening Night last night was FANTASTIC!!! It honestly was oh so magical! We had a really good crowd and it felt good to be performing for a real-live audience and not just our directors, producers and stage managers. We had a great audience that laughed and clapped and were just fabulous. I had several friends come including friends from my ward, ballet students and my codirector, and SwingKid and a friend of his. Among friends from my ward was Leviticus (remember him?) he gets a special shout-out because he brought me FLOWERS!!! I love flowers and I especially love getting flowers after performing. Makes my heart happy inside. and outside. :o)

SwingKid and I chit-chatted for quite some time after the show was over and everyone else was gone. I am glad that he and I are friends. We understand each other in ways that others don't and so it's nice to still have a connection with him even though we aren't dating anymore.

I am a little tired this morning as I sit at work, but I did make it on time, (unlike last week) and I'm excited for this weekend's performances. It shall be good times y'all, good times!

I think we'll finish up this post with a little Friday Fill-Ins fun! It's been awhile since I participated, so here we go!

1. How can I express my true feelings on the matter? It's so hard sometimes.

2. I remember having to wake up early when I was little so I could weed the garden. I hated it!

3. My hair is bugging the crap out of me. I'm ready for a change, but I'm not sure what I want to do with it next.

4. I love having friend get togethers that turn into min-reunions. Makes my heart happy.

5. My favorite summer fruits are strawberries, rhubarb and watermelon. Oh happy day.

6. Sometimes I just stop and stare and think...what was that?

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Night 2 of Aida! Huzzah!, tomorrow my plans include laundry, sleeping in, errands, a presidency meeting and Night 3 of Aida (not necessarily in that order) and Sunday, I want to get through my first Sunday as Relief Society President! EEK! Makes me nervous!

Thursday Things!!

Hello dear internet friends! It's Thursday! In some ways I can hardly believe that we're nearing the weekend and in other ways it has been a VERY long week.

Needless to say there is a lot on my brain....so let's begin, shall we?

• First off, opening night of AIDA is TONIGHT!!! I am so STOKED about this fact! No more dress rehearsals! No more extremely late nights at the theater! Granted - it will still be late nights, but I know I'll be getting home before 11:30pm on show nights. :o) YAY!

• Second off, I forgot to mention this last week, but my dear friend Joshua Christensen is a contestant on Project Runway! The season premiere was last week and although he struggled, he made it through and I know he'll have a renewed determination to rock this week's challenge. I love Josh so much and I feel so cool to know someone on a reality tv show.  :o)

• Entertaining things happened with dress rehearsals this week. First, my Egyptian costume got shortened (everyone's did) but mine ended up being a little....extra short. So they fixed that last night by adding in a few panels, but then one of the panels got put on backwards. HA HA HA. I'm just the problem Egyptian. ;)

• Not so much entertaining - but still worthy of note, I got hit in the head with one of our set pieces last night. The 20-ft pvc pipe flag pole to be precise. Those things are heavy and when me and my cast mates were moving them one of them slipped a little and hit me on the top of my head. I started laughing at first and then I started to cry. It hurt so much! I have a nice little welt on the top of my head and great headache. :(

• Some of you might be wondering if I have any dates coming up and the answer to that is....no. I might have a lunch date next week, but really with the musical, work, chiropractor appointments, my calling and needing lots of sleep, I don't really have much time for dates with boys. 

 That's about it - the main focus in my life right now is the musical. I am loving being able to be apart of it and look foward to performing for everyone who comes! Which if you DO come 1) let me know! I love knowing when people are coming to see me. Gives me that little extra boost of energy and 2) come see me after the show! The cast will be on the hill to the right of the stage (if you're looking at the stage -so stage left, house right for all you theater know-it-alls) after curtain call.

And that's all folks! I'm excited for the things a-happenin' these days. :o) Have a great Thursday!

Wednesday Workout

Once upon a time I saw this article thingy (someone else blogged about it and I can't remember who. If it was you, sorry that I forgot and consider this your credit!) anyways this article thingy goes as follows:


Via: Medical Billing And Coding

Scary Right?! I know. Sitting is killing me. In order to combat the imminent death from sitting in a desk for nine hours a day, my coworker and I have started something AWESOME. Every hour we get up and do 20 jumping jacks. I think  that I'm also going to start doing  this chair workout (just the first exercise) - maybe 20 of them every hour? Who knows. All I know is that I don't want to die early just because I'm in a job where I have to sit all the time. :P If you want more office workouts see this About.com web page for more ideas. Heaven knows you don't want your gravestone to like this:



Gravestone Generator

Tender Mercy Tuesday - 32nd Edition

Here we are....another Tuesday. Time seems to be just flying by these days. Before I know it the musical will be over, classes for my studio will have started again and life will feel a little more normal....maybe. What is normal anyways?

I mentioned last week that I was getting a new calling at church. I was sustained and set apart on Sunday as my ward's Relief Society President. Scary, right? My tender mercy today directly deals with this new calling. I knew right when I was called who one of my counselors needed to be to serve with me. I was unsure if she'd be willing to accept - it's a big call and a lot of work. However, she did accept and she and I worked together for a long time on Sunday working on Visiting Teaching. She is already such a blessing to me and I know we're going to work SO WELL together. In fact, both of my counselors are so amazing and I'm excited to work with them and help our Relief Society grow and learn and become more unified as sisters in the gospel. The Church is so true and I love being pushed to learn more and strengthen my testimony. I don't feel completely adequate for this call, but I know whom the Lord calls, he qualifies. I have definitely already spent a lot of time on my knees looking for guidance and I already know that this is going to be the hardest thing I've ever done, but it is also going to be the most rewarding.

Have a great Tuesday y'all!

wishing for a window in my office...

I took a 12 minute break and watched this adorable short film. makes me wish my office had a window facing another office building. with a cute boy of course. :o) Take a looksie, I think it is definitely worth your time.

THREE DAYS.....

The show opens in THREE DAYS people. This is insane. I can't believe that it's coming up so soon!

We had our first dress rehearsal on Saturday and it was a pretty good run through - it felt SO GOOD to have REAL sound through our speakers and to have microphones on the leads and such. SO GOOD. I hope things only get better from here. We have dress rehearsals every night leading up to the opening night on Thursday.

In other news, Grizzly Bear texted me for the first time in like, 2  weeks. It totally caught me off guard. It wasn't a huge issue - because I couldn't do anything with the musical and stuff. I don't want to date him, but I want to stay friends. At some point I'll probably have to talk with him, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Right now, my focus is on my church calling and the musical. Also, ballet classes start up again in 2 weeks (yup, same week as the last week of AIDA. great timing, right?) and I'm excited to start a new year with a new ballet company.

I might be MIA a tad the next few weeks. Work is crazy, the musical will most definitely take over my life with how late rehearsals will go and what not and I just don't know how much I'll post. Don't miss me too much! :o)