Thursday Things

Good Thursday Morning lovelies. I hope you're having a FANTASTIC day in the neighborhood. I know I am! :o) I'm rather excited that it is finally Thursday. Around here it's Friday because I don't work tomorrow. Halleluiah. :o) Let's get to the good stuff shall we?

• My date with Monkey Man was a BLAST. Seriously. So much win. My pumpkin carving skills are awesome AND Xbox Kinnect? TOTALLY WICKED!!! Seriously. SO MUCH FUN!

• I'm really excited for my weekend. It starts tonight after my ballet class with a hair appointment. super stoked for THAT tonight. THEN I'm going dancing. Will get my flirt on...etc etc.

• Tomorrow I'm sleeping in, going to the gym, helping my sister changer her name on her driver's license, going to the temple, rehearsing my ballet company and going to movie night. (Star Trek anyone?)

• Saturday includes sleeping in, going to the gym, being crafty, watching BYU Football and THEN going to see Ballet West's Dracula.

• My date for the ballet? Monkey Man. yup, I asked him last night after our date got over. He wasn't sure he could go because of previous plans...but then his friends canceled said plans. So our ballet date is a go!

• Monkey Man was really cute last night...he held my hand again - but it was cute how anxious and unsure we both were and trying to read the other person on their thoughts of holding hands...yeah. He's cute.

• Here's an interesting fact and something I discussed with my coworkers this morning - I have a crush on Monkey Man, but it's not the same as other crushes (i.e. Fryman, Surfer Boy, Grizzly Bear, etc); with past crushes I have imagined how everything would play out (dating, to kissing, to getting engaged, to getting married, etc) because I am a girl and I fantasize about EVERYTHING. I haven't done that with Monkey Man at all. My one coworker thinks it's because I'm not having to do all the work (not that I always do all the asking with other guys...but I do do a lot of encouraging/inviting etc). I think she's right. She also told me that's how it worked for her and her husband and another former coworker of ours and her husband. They never really thought of their husbands as potentials until after they started dating. So...I'm not forecasting anything, I'm just making an observation. ;)

• In other non-boy related news, Katria sent me this link to an AMAZING dance performance. YOU NEED TO WATCH IT. Even if you don't really like dance, WATCH IT. It's INCREDIBLE.

• Also incredible? This non-traditional version of Swan Lake. SWEET CRAZINESS. I thought my jaw was going to fall off. So amazing.

• This article about BYU and the Big-12 was very interesting. I learned new things.

• My little bro turned 19 yesterday. He's getting to be SO grown up! I just can't stand it. :o)

• Finally, let me leave you with this awesome print I found on pinterest. :o)

Have a great weekend folks! :o)

Monday Madness

whew. What a crazy weekend! Work has been UBER busy this morning and I have gotten a lot done. It feels good to be productive. :o) I know you're all SO anxious to hear about my weekend so....let's do a bullet point recap here quickly, shall we?

this weekend:

• I rode in a car for lots of hours. It was very entertaining. We had several iPads in the car and at one point we played the Game of Life. It was festive.

• I stayed in a mansion. seriously. It was awesome. Sauna, hot tub, swimming pool...etc. LOVED it.

• I had the best Mexican food on Friday night. It was delish.

• The Little Mermaid was utterly fantastic. They did so many cool and ingenius things. I just sat there the entire time in awe.

• We went to Kneaders for breakfast and I got their french toast. Oh my gosh. That was the most divine breakfast in the entire world. I want more.

• I flirted. (duh. I always flirt. ;) )

• Watched a movie with Fryman. It had been a while since he and I had hung out. It was fun times.

• The movie? not my favorite. but oh well.

• Game night last was full of epic Apples to Apples fun. 

• My favorite part of the game? When we decided that getting married to senior to cash in on their social security would be a good idea.

• At one point I was laughing so hard that I rolled over (I was sitting on the floor) and I rolled over the box - it scraped me and this morning I have an awesome bruise. ha.

• seriously. SO much laughing last night. It was a total blast.

• The Relief Society broadcast was AWESOME. President Uchtdorf is a stud muffin. LOVE him.

So there you go, that was basically my weekend. :o) I'm excited for FHE tonight because we're going up the canyon and making s'mores. Don't tell my trainer. ;)

Foggy Brain

I had the most wonderful weekend dear friends. I did everything I wanted to and then some! I was saddened to watch my BYU Cougars lose (by one point!) to the Texas Longhorns...but, you win some, you lose some and then you move on.

Today I feel tired and foggy, that probably has something to do with my extremely long day filled with meetings and the such. However, I do feel that things are going in the right direction with everything that I'm working on, so that's good news.

Also, I'm wanting a date this weekend. Will it happen? Who knows. I don't want to ask a boy out...I want a boy to ask me out. (there is a very specific boy that I want to ask me out. will he?  I don't know. should he? most definitely. ha ha ha.)

In a sort of related way, Fryman and I were texting back and forth last night (he and I are still friends, I run into him at church all the time even though he's not in my ward and I think we might hang out this week.) and at one point he told me that I was hot, no scratch that, sexy hot. It made me laugh, but then it also made me feel pretty good about myself. What girl doesn't like to know that she's sexy? Sometimes I just like to be beautiful and cute can be good sometimes too, but to know that I'm sexy? I just think that's awesome. :o) Now if only all the other boys (or just one specific boy) felt the same way and ACTED on those feelings and took me out on dates, then we might be going somewhere!

Ha, okay. that wasn't meant to turn into a mini rant. It's over. No worries.

This week is going to be busy. However, next week I'm going to Tuachan to see The Little Mermaid. I'm rather excited about that fact. I'm VERY much looking forward to it. :o) Anywho, here's to hoping the week flies by and the weekend has exciting adventures. ciao!

woah. information overload?

Are you ready for an INFORMATION OVERLOAD? good. because there is a TON of stuff that I have to tell you.

First off - THE WEDDING.

It was SO BEAUTIFUL!!! I loved every minute of the day of her wedding. And really, the days leading up to her wedding weren't that stressful, so that was good. Seeing my family was so fabulous. I love my family. I loved having them here in Utah. It was great times. I still can't believe my sister is married, but it is very happy so I'm okay with that.

NEXT: the show.

It was chaos. Like always. My students did fabulous, but the back stage managing was all over the place and insanely crazy busy. I was on my feet basically all day - until I took over calling the show at one point. Seriously, the day was VERY long and I almost died. But then I didn't.

Another THING:

Remember how I was auditioning for AIDA? Well...The audition went fairly well. I know that I wasn't the best singer, but man alive I danced my heart out. My good friend auditioned too which was excited! Well...I got an email an I MADE THE ENSEMBLE!!! I am SUPER DUPER excited about it all. In fact, I have my first rehearsal in just a short while. (Also, my friend who auditioned? She made it too!!!)

A BOY thing -

So....Grizzly Bear is still kind of in the same place.  He texts me...but we've been on like one date. sigh. some boys.

PERCY on the other hand....he is INCREDIBLE.  He called me on Sunday, but we got interrupted by my sister and her husband. I called him back, but he didn't answer. He texted me Monday morning to apologize and see if I was available for lunch - which I totally was! However, I realized that i was wearing the SAME outfit I had worn on our first date! I totally came home and changed (just don't tell him that...). We went out to eat at my favorite Thai restaurant right across the street from where I work. We had the most pleasant time.  Also, we set aside time for our THIRD date. I am excited for our third date. The last time I had one of those well...we all remember the Fryman situation.. Anyways, we communicated via text message late Monday evening and it was suggested that we'll go Canoeing and on a picnic. I am rather STOKED by is suggestion, we'll see if that's what we really do or not. Regardless I really like Percy and I'm very excited to spend more time with him.

BASICALLY, this "summer" (aka the tie when I don't teach ballet) seems to be going EXTREMELY well and it just might be one of my favorite summers yet. I'm not counting any chicks yet, but I'm definitely keeping my fingers crossed. ;)

Hopefully none of your brains fried with all that info. I hope I didn't forget anything. Any Questions??  ;)

Dating Battle Stories: a boy named Leviticus

PREFACE

Last Sunday, the 24th of April was our 2nd Sunday as a "new"-ish ward. (this is the Sunday after Fryman kissed me) I was standing in the hall after church talking to my friend Rocky (who was new to the ward, but we grew up together) and there were a few guys standing there too. Some from the ward from before and some new peeps. One of the guys, Leviticus, was there (he's new) and he was a friend of Rocky's. Anyways, we got to know each other a little bit and as I left the group (because i was SO hungry and i needed lunch) Leviticus shakes my hand and says, "Alishka, you have the cutest personality, it was great to meet you have a great Sunday." I thanked him and went home. Then the whole Fryman thing went down.

FAST FORWARD….

Saturday, April 30th. I had no plans that evening. In fact, I had just gotten home from visiting a friend and her newborn in the hospital and was cleaning my kitchen. I decided I wanted to do fun things so I texted some of my guy friends asking if anyone wanted to go out and do something exciting. Well, no one wanted to, in fact I got ignored and rejected. It was sad times. So then, fast forward like 20 minutes and I'm sitting on my couch checking facebook when I get a message from Leviticus - and it says "Hi!"

I respond in kind and then proceeds the FUNNIEST conversation ever. There was mention of secret training, secret bowling alleys, and covert signals for seeing each other. It was awesome.

So yeah, THAT happened. We went bowling and I had the best time ever. It was a blast. :o) THEN we were just sitting in the bowling alley talking and we somehow got talking about moose and elk and which was bigger and why and we decided that we should go find out...without the internet. So off on adventures we went...we ended up at the BYU HBLL (the ONLY library still open at 9pm at night on a Saturday...ha ha UVU was closed because they just had graduation) So we decide to try not to use the computers to look anything up. We make our way to the science section and find some encyclopedias and look up stuff on moose and elk. It was hilarious. Then Leviticus decided we should do yoga in between the shelves. So...we did yoga in the HBLL. Then he gave me an assignment to find a book on a subject to learn something, and I did the same to him. We both ended up with books, sat in a collaborative area in the HBLL and learned new things together. It was awesome. After that we went and got taco bell and sat in the parking lot talking until 2 am. It was awesome.

THE NEXT DAY

Sunday, May 1st. It was so hard for me to get up that morning. We have church at 9 am...and I had a meeting before church...so I only got like 5 hours of sleep. I got ready and went to church. Now, because we're still transitioning, I've been doing my calling AND leading the music in sacrament meeting (I volunteered to help them out). SoI'm sitting up on the stand and while leading the music I don't see Leviticus. Well, after church I’m out in the hall and Leviticus is there! He slept in, but he was there to catch the tail end of our meetings and then was going to a different ward that afternoon. So we’re standing there talking and he asks how I had slept. I hadn't slept extremely well, about 30 minutes before my alarm went off that morning my smoke detector’s battery started to die and started beeping every 2 minutes. I have 12ft ceilings in my apt and could BARELY reach the smoke detector while standing on a chair and books to get the battery out. So I tell him this and how I don't have a battery and he's all, "Alishka! What if your house catches on fire and your smoke alarm doesn't work!? You need a battery! And a ladder!" So then he proceeds to tell me he thinks he has a battery.

Later that afternoon I wake up from a really deep sleep of a nap and look at facebook (trying to wake up) and I see this facebook message from Leviticus: "I have a battery that may or may not have power. Do you want a battery change service?" I respond in the affirmative and he comes over after saying "we'll send a technician right over." He came over, changed the battery effortlessly and then stayed to chat. Then he left because he had something else to do that evening, but he accidentally left his phone (it escaped his pocket) so I sent him a message and 30 minutes later he comes back and STAYS until 11p or so. We had the best time chatting and such. Also, on Saturday I told him about how I'm working on family history and on Sunday he asked me to show him what I have and what I'm looking for right now. So we spent a couple of hours together, on the couch just looking up stuff on my laptop for family history. Amazing.

AND MOST RECENTLY….

Monday night for FHE we had a ward BBQ. It was awesome. Leviticus sat at our table, along with a whole slew of other guys. It was awesome. I floated around, met new people, talked, played volleyball and ended up back at the table Leviticus was then sitting at.

It was decided to go to my place to watch a movie (my roommate, a good friend and major flirt of mine and I decided this) I convinced Leviticus to come.

We hung out and colored in coloring books. It was awesome.

My flirty friend left about after the movie. I was a zombie at this point because of my fried brain from work. Leviticus stayed until 11:30 or so...and at one point played with my hair (he did that Saturday too now that I think about it). We just hung out and talked and stuff. It was very nice.

So there you go. My very long story about a boy named Leviticus. I think we shall have many an adventure this summer. :o)

{source}

Tender Mercy Tuesday - 19th Edition

After the shortest relationship I have ever had happened in the past 2 days I have found that I really am so blessed. The tender mercies of this weekend and last night have overwhelmed me.

• My dear friend Bassbob called me within 10 minutes of getting off the phone with Fryman. Honestly, I was just starting to feel sorry for myself and he pulled me right out of that slump.

• My other Bob friend (Becky Bob) has been a great friend. We've always been good friends, but in recent weeks our friendship has grown and we talk via email and text messaging almost daily. I love her. 

• I wouldn't have the above two things happen to me if it weren't for the amazing technology of this day and age. I love that I am blessed to be here NOW when all these things are possible.

• I am going to a funeral today, and while it is a sad moment to say good-bye to someone at the same time this man lived a full life. He was amazing and he is in a much better place now.

• I still feel peace. Even with Fryman totally making a 180 degree turn and changing his mind on how he feels about dating me....we're not completely throwing it out the window. There is still a chance but like I said last night, I'm not holding my breath. 

• Patience is a virtue that I obviously need to keep working on in my life.

• Work has been crazy, but even with it being crazy I find time to hang out with my friends and do fun things. I love it.

• My new ward is pretty cool. Still getting to know people, but I'm excited about it!

And basically, this sums up how I'm going to deal with life right now:

Nevermind

Thank you guys for being so cute and supportive and excited for me. It's always a nice feeling to get comments and to have people share in on your joy.

I just had a nice long conversation with Fryman.

Sigh. Boys are so....confusing!

He called to tell me he's just not feeling right about us dating right now. He hated saying it, I could totally tell. He's not sure if it's just feelings of being scared of committing to a relationship or if it's more of a this isn't going to work with us right now...but regardless we're stepping back.

like way back.

like, we're not dating exclusively, we're not going to see each other this week. maybe we'll go out next week, but i'm not getting my hopes up.

I knew this was a possibility based on some of our text messages today. I'm not going to lie, I hate it. I had such a peaceful feeling about us dating yesterday and to have that dashed to pieces - it hurts. Granted, it takes two people that both are feeling right about the situation to make a relationship work. I guess it hurts the most because I did let him kiss me and I felt so good about taking that step.

But what's a girl to do?  I can't force him to do something he doesn't want to do. If it's not right...then it's NOT RIGHT. And the peace I felt...I knew that it was a peaceful feeling in that it was okay. That doesn't mean it was going to mean an instant relationship or anything. I am just full of sad right now. I wish that it would have worked...I wish dating was easier.

{source}

Dating Battle Stories: a THIRD date!

Lines of Happiness - check
Waves of Awesome - check
Cloud 9 - double check

Fryman took me out on a third date this weekend. (first of all, this was kind of a big deal/sort of scary for me. I haven't been on a third date in a LONG time.) (second of all, i'm not going to tell you about the date with the Argonaut after all. It was okay. I knew I didn't want to go out with him again a week ago and had already decided that that night would be our last date. Needless to say I was happy to get home after the date.)

ANYWAYS back to the THIRD date with Fryman!

We had a blast going out to eat (i'm pretty sure we could just sit and talk forever. we always are at restaurants for ages) and then we went back to my place to dye Easter eggs. Then we decided, sort of last minute, to go see The King's Speech (PG-13 version) at Thanksgiving Point. It was being shown on the Mammoth screen. That screen is HUGE. It was a lot of fun and the theater was basically empty, which was all sorts of coolness.

After the movie we came back to my apartment and did some low-key cuddling while talking on the couch. He stood up to leave and I gave him a hug. We had a moment and then he kissed me goodnight.

Yes, he kissed me.

Last night he came over for dinner. We had some great conversation, actually went down to BYU campus to walk around the duck pond and the cute new trail they put in. We have really good communication and we talked about what kissing means to both of us and have decided to be exclusive in our dating. So I guess you could say I have a boyfriend. :o) ha. that sounds weird. Anyways, Fryman is great. He makes me feel wonderful and I want to be a better person when I'm around him. He calls me beautiful and compliments me and my many talents.

And that folks, is why I am full of happiness while being awesome on Cloud 9 right now.

hi day off. It's nice to see you

I'm so excited that my day off is here today. I live for my days off these days. They are my manna from heaven. So wonderful.

I'm sure you're all wondering how my date with the Argonaut went....I'll let you know later. k? In other news I have a third date with Fryman. I'm stoked about that.

Moving on to some Friday Fillin's for ya....(it's been a while guys! I miss these!)

1. Pardon me, but I really think you have
 .

2. right now fresh fruit at Sunflower Market is a good deal.

3. I was surprised to find that I really like this cake: 


4. Flirting with boys is one of my favorite forms of entertainment.  :o)

5. Hi, my name is Alishka and I'm a dating maniac.

6. I LOVE and ADORE summer afternoons.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to my bi-weekly games with friends, tomorrow my plans include baby showers galore and Sunday, I want to enjoy my Easter Sunday!

Thoisday Thoughts and Things

Hi guys. Can I just tell you how happy I am that it is Thursday? and that it's my Friday? Oh man. It's been a very busy week filled what with learning a new ERP system at work and all. My brain HURTS. Changing over to a new system is all sorts of crazy.

Anywho...let's get to all my thoughts shall we?

• My brain hurts. The end.

• My date with Fryman last night? too short. We both had something (him a meeting for church, me a hair appointment) and so all we did was go to dinner...but it was fabulously awesome.

• I love getting my hairs did.

• After getting my hairs did I flirted with Fryman via text.

• I connived an invitation to his house to watch a movie that I was going to watch at home but my tv was taken.

• So I stayed up late with Fryman watching Tangled. Love that movie.

• Nothing happened per se...but he's not a cuddler (he's told me so...at least not until he's kissed a girl.)

• But we did get to hang out together for longer last night and I know both of us wanted it.

• The Mumford & Sons "Sigh No More" album is amazing

• Pair it with the Adele "21" album (favorite song? Rolling in the Deep - the music video is AWESOME) and you have the best play list right now for me at work.

• I'm going wedding shoe shopping w/my sister tonight. We both need wedding shoes. She's looking for flats, and I'm looking for peep-toe heels. :o) Love shoe shopping

• I have no plans for Saturday night....yet. I'm hoping to do something fun and adventurous.

• Fun but not adventurous: dying Easter eggs. I WILL do this at some point this weekend.

• It's my Friday. I'm excited to have tomorrow off. I plan on sleeping in just a little bit, going to the temple, taking a ballet class and doing some grocery shopping/errand running that needs to be done.

• I won a free hour-long massage a few months ago and I haven't used it yet. I keep meaning to...but keep forgetting to make the appointment. :P I think I'll make time for it in the very near future. 

Whew. I get tired just looking at that list....but good things have happened in the past day, good things are going to happen this weekend and I'm one happy camper. Who wants to REALLY go camping this summer...maybe I should buy a tent and a sleeping bag....

Dating Battle Stories: Marathon of Dates Part Two

see part one here

Date #4 - April 16th

My best friend Truit married this great guy. I am really good friends with this couple and I love doing things with them. We have dinner on some Sundays, they went to the temple with me, basically these guys are awesome-sauce.  Anyways, about two-ish weeks ago I was hanging out with them and Truit's husband mentions how he has single friends - specifically his classmate that he studies with all the time. I ask him why he hasn't set me up yet and he promises to get right on that. last week he calls me and we set up the date. Let's call my date Blindman2 (original right? ha ha).

So, I met Blindman2 at Truit's apartment and all four of us went off to Macaroni Grill. I got the same dish as the last time I was there and it didn't disappoint. :o) conversation flowed nicely at dinner and Blindman2 was nice. He's definitely a nerd - but a nice one so it's okay. After dinner we opted to go back to the Truit's apartment and played a few games while chatting. It was fun and Blindman2 was great company. At the end of the date he got my number, which I take as a good sign. He hasn't used my number since, but it has been finals time so I'm not too worried. We'll see what happens. I'm open to having a second date, but who knows.

In the Works:
 
Tonight I have a date #2 with Fryman and then tomorrow I have date #3 with the Argonaut. Also, remember this post where I mentioned this boy? Well, I finally got BRAVE and sent him an email via Facebook (gotta love Facebook - plus we were friends b/c of the concert) basically asking him to go out to dinner with me. Well...he replied and said.... YES! So, I'm not sure when yet, but we're going to get together and get to know each other better. I'm all sorts of excited about it.

Also, I asked the Australian to go on a real date with me, and he told me he likes me and loves hanging out with me, but he's not in a place to really date me for reals right now. So...we're going to stay friends. I'm okay with this. I'm glad I took the risk to ask him and luckily for me it hasn't changed my friend with benefits (sort of) status that we have. Ha.

Anyways, life is peachy, work is nuts, my sister is getting married in less than 2 months and I am very ready for Spring to be here.

Dating Battle Stories: Marathon of Dates Part One

please ignore Sweetums...he was in the original prophecy, but since he has a GF....

So I had a marathon of dates set up, some of the plans have changed, but I figured I needed to post part one soon so that you guys wouldn't be too far behind in my life.

Anyways! Here we go!

Date #1 - April 9th

This date was for Ballet West's Bolero with Norsnob. I wore my sister's Prom dress from two years ago. It's teal and sparkly. Perfect for both me and the ballet. :o) I picked up Norsnob and off we went to SLC. We first stopped at the best pizza place ever: Settebello.  Seriously, you need to check it out. It was sooo yummy. Perfect dinner place before the ballet. Then it was off to the ballet. We were a little bit late and missed part of Sinfoinetta. In the end I was okay with this. It wasn't my favorite part of the program, but was still beautiful. Next they performed Chaccone. This Balanchine classic was AMAZING. I truly loved it. (then again, I love everything about Balanchine). Finally they closed with Bolero. OH MY GOODNESS. I don't know what to say about this ballet other than it seemed to be about 2 mintues long even though it was more like 12ish? I think? I have no idea...all I know is that it was AMAZING. I loved EVERY MINUTE of this piece and the ending...oh my the ending. INCREDIBLE. I hope to see this piece amongst Ballet West's repretoire in teh  future. It was just THAT good. Walking into the lobby of the Capitol Theater we both looked at each other and Norsnob says, "Alishka, I can't stop thinking about Bolero!" I completely agreed. It was just so good. Overall this date was a major 10 on a scale of 1-10 of awesomeness. I saw him at a church activity the next day and he sort of touched my arm and i went to touch his back and it was awkward and he shook my hand and basically it was so full of awkwardness that all I could do was laugh. Roommate A approves wholeheartedly and wants us to go out again. We shall see.

Date #2 - April 13th

This date consisted of me going out with Fryman for dinner. We met on a dating website and wanted to meet in real life. Real life meetings are the best after all. Earlier in the day Fryman texted me and we decided on a Thai restaurant in North Orem. I love Thai food so much. We split some spring rolls and pineapple curry (my favorite!) We were at the restaurant for almost two hours and enjoyed our conversation a lot. I texted him later that evening with a post-date text. We've been texting a lot since then. :o) We already have plans to go out next week and he's already told me how cute he thinks I am. He's definitely interested, no question. We'll see how things go; I don't want to get my hopes up to high seeing as how my past experiences have taught me that when I get high hopes the boy gets a girlfriend.

Date # 3 - April 14th

I was supposed to have a second date with the Argonaut tonight. (remember? the duck pond?) He texted me last night to say he's very sick and asked if we could postpone our date. We're now going out next Thursday.
 anyways...as much as I like the guy (he's a great guy) I'm not necessarily super excited to go out with him, but I'd already agreed and I can't back out. I'd look like a flake.

Anywho, Date #4 is Saturday night (as long as it goes through) and I already have 2 dates lined up for next week possibly a third....so yeah. I'm sort of a dating queen right now. Ha. I love it though. I'm really enjoying not being in a relationship and enjoying the slew of men chasing me :o) Until part two my friends....