Tender Mercy Tuesday: 58th Edition

Hello my dears! I hope this Tuesday has brought you something wonderful. My Tuesday has brought me big, giant, romantic snowflakes and hopes and dreams of the future.

I have two thoughts for today. The first having to do with just this past Sunday. I wasn't feel down, per se, but I did have a few struggles on my mind and things I was praying about.  At the end of my wonderful set of meetings a dear sister came up to me and paid me the sweetest compliment I think I've received since becoming the Relief Society President. It was a simple compliment, but one that I will always treasure and rely on during hard times.

The second thought is that we have an extra 24 hours to our lives this year. I've known all year long that this year was a leap year which equals an extra day to the year...however I didn't really think about the fact that we're going to get a WHOLE extra 24 hours! I mean, this is an opportunity that only comes once every FOUR years. It's kind of a big deal! How often do we wish that we had more time? An extra day? Well, this year you're getting it! Granted, it's probably going to feel much like any other day (especially for me who gets to work and meet with her bishop. :o) ) But I can't help but want to do something to make the day feel just a tad special.

So my dears, what will you do with your extra 24 hours?

Tender Mercy Tuesday: 57th Edition

Hello dears. I hope you are doing splendidly and are enjoying "Fat Tuesday."

If you're not Catholic (like myself) then this day holds no extreme significance for you. I have, in the past, given up "things" for Lent. However, this year I am focusing not so much on giving things up, but getting things done. Occupying my life. Attempting to be patient until an unknown future date.

Life has been an interesting roller coaster ride as of late. I don't see it as being one of tons of ups and downs, but more of one with lots of twists and turns, new things around every bend. I have understood for a long time that God is omnipotent, but it still never ceases to amaze me how well he knows me and the ability he has to take me on a journey that is the best possible route for me.

Solider Boy told me a personal story last night that directly related to us and our future relationship that just confirmed to me how right this situation is for us right now. I've known it's right, but any outside evidence is always helpful to combating the feelings of doubt and fear that Satan tries to instill into my mind. I'm constantly reciting and remembering Doctrine and Covenants 6:36, "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not." This scripture is pulling and pushing me through this unknown amount of time. How I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Basically, I want you to know that I KNOW that God is looking out for us no matter our situation or religious affiliation. We are all children of Him and He wants us to be a happy and joyful people. What a great thing to have - an omnipotent being rooting for us every step of the way. :o)

God bless.

p.s. If you happen to be LDS and have a favorite General Conference talk, I'd love for you to share it with me. I'm speaking in my congregation in a few weeks and have complete freedom in choosing my topic from a General Conference talk. However, I have no idea where to start - so please share your favorite talk of all time! Thanks!

Tender Mercy Tuesday - 55th Edition

Today's Tender Mercy comes from the other day when I was sitting in church (with Solider Boy!)

I'm not going to go into great deal of why this is such a tender mercy to me - it's very personal and close to my heart right now. However, what I do know is that this song that I stumbled upon during Sunday School was exactly what i needed to read. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir does a beautiful arrangement that i'm sharing, but be sure to read the words below. They're very powerful. The third verse is definitely my favorite. :o) I'm so glad that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and will give me these little mercies to aid me through my trials.

Though deep’ning trials throng your way,
Press on, press on, ye Saints of God!
Ere long the resurrection day
Will spread its life and truth abroad,
Will spread its life and truth abroad.

Though outward ills await us here,
The time, at longest, is not long
Ere Jesus Christ will reappear,
Surrounded by a glorious throng,
Surrounded by a glorious throng.

Lift up your hearts in praise to God;

Let your rejoicings never cease.

Though tribulations rage abroad,

Christ says, “In me ye shall have peace.”

Christ says, “In me ye shall have peace.”

How I deal....

I can usually handle a break-up pretty well. usually being the key word.

This time around has been interesting since I saw the other side of breaking-up. I have found myself still going through the same grief cycle and what not.

First thing that's always on my agenda? New shoes. Oh and did these new shoes deliver...please observe:

Hot, no? I am so in love with these gold glitter stilettos. They make me tall, add some pizzaz to any outfit and are just plain AWESOME.

Next thing on my agenda is to immerse myself in crafty projects and hang out with all my friends. Done and done. I finished my sister's wedding gift (a wedding album of everything from their wedding. I am so awesome) and gave it to her this weekend. I hung out with Surfer Boy and other peeps from my ward and basically just had a fun time.

The next thing that usually happens after a break-up is that I begin to miss having a boyfriend but don't necessarily miss the boy I was dating specifically. I am currently in that phase. It is always a hard phase to get out of, but I will persevere. :o) Today I'm doing that by reminding myself of the awesomeness through a few quotes. Enjoy and have a marvelous Martin Luther King Jr. Day (I SO wish I had the day off. :( )

Tender Mercy Tuesday - 46th Edition

Hello  Tuesday! I am so glad to see you. Mostly because it means that I only have two more days to work this week. :o)

I am so very blessed. Honestly, I can't believe how wonderful my life is sometimes! I am continually thanking my Heavenly Father  for all of my many, many blessings.

So, this week's tender mercy comes from just the other day. Every 2nd Sunday I have an early morning Stake Training meeting for my calling. It's at 7 am at my church building and it is always a wonderful meeting to go to. I just love it. The night before I had watched a movie with Monkey Man and some of our friends from the ward. I didn't get home from said movie night until one in the morning. Smart, I know. Well, as I was getting ready for bed I had the prompting to get everything packed and ready for my meetings the next day. Now, I had set my alarm and had left myself plenty of time to get ready, but I just felt like I should have everything packed up. So I packed my church bag and set out my outfit for the next morning. Now, I normally set out my outfits for each day, but I set out every little detail of my outfit down to my nylons and shoes and then I went to bed.

Normally when I set my alarms I set two on my phone to go off within three minutes of each other and then I set another one on my iPod touch that is a music alarm to help continue waking me up while I snooze the other alarms. :o) Well, my music alarm goes off and I doze in and out and then start to realize that my phone alarms aren't going off, I finally get out of bed to see what's going on and it's 6:58am. Needless to say I freaked out and started getting ready SUPER fast. Lucky for me, EVERYTHING was laid out and ready to go and my hair looked just fine from the day before. I felt so blessed to have been able to receive and follow inspiration. I think it is amazing that Heavenly Father helps me with the big things in my life as well as with the little things.

Life is amazing. I hope you all have a great Tuesday!

The Grandest Wish of all....

At 11:11 today (11/11/11) I will be driving to Spanish Fork whilst on my lunch break to take care of a stupid ticket from my car accident on Halloween. pooh. BUT it means that I probably won't miss this auspicious event. :o)

All morning long I've been thinking of what I should wish for because a wish made on such a day as this is bound to be pretty amazing AND I would think it has the highest chance of coming true. :o) So...what does one wish for on this great event?

I have no idea.

While I continue to ponder my wishes so I can make that great wish in just a matter of hours, I want to take this time to thank all of the veterans - including both of my grandfathers. They have done so much to help keep our country safe and I'm grateful for their sacrifice. The world would be a much scarier place right now without them.

And finally, a little jovial Friday Fill-ins for ya today. I hope this day brings you the most happiness possible. Loves!

1. Turkey is delicious. I love eating turkey - especially turkey sandwiches!

2. I love pumpkin pie. And plan on making plenty of it this year. :o)

3. On and on and on we go day in and day out.

4. The last time I saw my good former roommate Peximus Maximus was three years ago - until Wednesday afternoon! It was so fabulous to get to see and visit with her. She makes my heart happy.

5. Can you believe there are less than 2 weeks to Thanksgiving? This year is going to be over before we know it!

6. I need a personal assistant. There are too many things that I need to take care of that I just don't want to deal with right now.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to my dinner date with Monkey Man, tomorrow my plans include rehearsal and cleaning my house and the Ward Dinner + Talent Show and Sunday, I want to make something yummy!

best weekend EVER!!!

hey you guys! (every time I say that phrase I say it like THIS. ha ha ha ha)

I hope you had the most fantastic weekend. Mine was, to quote Monkey Man, "sublime."

Friday was just fantastic and filled with great things. Saturday was also great (two straight days of sleeping in? Yes Please!) and was made even better by BYU winning their football game without question.

THEN. Then, there was Ballet West's Dracula. This ballet was absolutely exquisite. The brides of Dracula were very ethereal, creepy and yet gorgeous at the same time. The special effects added to the charm of the storyline and didn't  feel like they were there just because they could be there. (If that makes any kind of sense.) Monkey Man had never been to a ballet before and I just love being able to indoctrinate people into the awesomeness that is ballet. :o) He really enjoyed it, which is a good thing.

So, he held my hand while at the ballet and basically on our entire date. ;) There's just something about holding hands that is so great and it makes me happy. I wore a new top that I found shopping with Roommate A with my long brown skirt and I felt so pretty. After the ballet it was decided that we would go grocery shopping, so we swung by my favorite local grocer and did some shopping. I love grocery shopping and I think it's a lot of fun to do with a guy (for some odd reason.) After that, we went back to his place to take home his groceries and then he walked me out to my car.

Now, here's the deal. I have learned from some very trustworthy sources that Monkey Man has not kissed a lot of people. So, by this point in the evening I was convinced that a kiss was not going to happen (which I was fine with, I mean, I would have been fine either way to be honest) and so I didn't think about it as we were saying good night. So, we say thank you, and as we go in for a hug (i think) I realize about 2.2 seconds too late that Monkey Man was going in to kiss me. GAH! I felt so bad! He kissed me on the cheek and I realized that I had just shafted this really cute, sweet boy. I felt so bad, and so I returned the favor and kissed him on the cheek as well and as we pulled back a little bit he looked at me and then went in for it and this time I didn't shaft him...and we kissed. Just a sweet little peck. a few times. It was adorably sweet and nothing like any other guy I've ever kissed.

See...I feel like when other guys have kissed me it has been leading into the possibility of making out. And not that making out is a bad thing (I do rather enjoy it. TMI? Perhaps?) BUT it was very refreshing to just have him just kiss me.

Now....here's where I wax all philosophical. See....Monkey Man is nothing like any guy that I have ever dated. In fact, when I get to this point in a relationship with a guy, 9 times out of 10 it's because I've been crushing on the guy for quite some time and I've made things known that I wouldn't be opposed to dating said guy. Well....with Monkey Man he sort of came out of nowhere. Not that I didn't like the kid, we were friends before all of this happened, but I hadn't been crushing on him, or sending signals or anything. HE has done all the work. HE has made all of the initial moves. (Now, I have encouraged him....but still.) So...I'm sort of freaking out on the inside. Not on the outside...but definitely in the inside. This relationship is different than ANY relationship I have EVER had and the reason that that is so scary is because people (i.e. every married person I know, including my SISTER) has said that that's how it goes! It's the person you're NOT looking for, the person you DON'T expect to date that gets you married. sigh. I'm trying not to over think things...but let's be honest. I'm a girl. I over think EVERYTHING. So right now...I'm just trying to enjoy this crazy, wild ride that I have suddenly found myself on. So...if it ever sounds like I'm freaking out - just tell me to chill out. k? okay.

REGARDLESS. I'm really, really all sorts of giddy, twitterpatedness over here in Alishka land. Hopefully I can focus. ;) Have a great Monday Y'all!!!

ps. If you read this to the very end then I am very impressed and you deserve a gold star. So consider yourself starred. ;)

poof!

It was just like that - POOF! Suddenly, summer was gone and all the was left in it's wake was a horrible tan line that never went away and the wishes of more sunshine. This weekend was filled with loads of cold temperatures, cloudy skies, rainy (and a little snow!) days and lots of indoor adventures.

I'm sorry I sort of disappeared the end of last week. Thursday was just insanely busy and I never got around to posting and then I had Friday off, which ended up being so very busy and Saturday was much the same. I did finally choose and begin the contemporary piece for BU2 (thank goodness!) and now I get to start the process of finding music for my ballet class in Spanish Fork. I start that class in one week and I want to start choreography (or at least learn some sections of the choreography and teach them so the students aren't shocked by said choreography) in a month...and then I'll actually teach the dance w/formations to them in the beginning of the year. We are to do a dance on discouragement. Any music ideas you might have would be greatly appreciated.

I finally got my new computer at work. It is sooooo pretty. I have a HUGE monitor that I love, Windows 7 operating system that I'm still getting used to and Microsoft Office 10 that is making me think very hard. ;)

In other news I need to ask a boy to go see Ballet West's Dracula with me in less than 2 weeks. I have been thinking about asking Blindman2 OR I might ask this one guy in my ward. sigh. I just don't know who to take.

In other news, life is busy. Actually, that's not really news, especially if you know me in real life. I'm just always doing things. This week is no exception.

Anywho, this is a very boring, mundane post. I'll try to be funnier in the future, but I make no promises. ;)

Dating Battle Stories: A girly story about Surfer Boy

 

The title is not meant to meant that Surfer Boy is girly. No, what it means is that I am very girly and what I am about to post is full of me being a girly girl and reading into every little thing that happened this weekend with Surfer Boy. Okay, maybe not EVERY little thing, but close. :o)

Okay. Starting at the beginning - Friday. Movie night. Hosted by Home Teacher (a boy who is my home teacher and will be referenced as such) he invited several people to his house to watch a movie that we would vote on. Movie night was slated to start at 7 pm. I texted Home Teacher to let him know that I would be late...I don't get done teaching until 5:45, and I had run earlier and so I needed to shower and such. I get to his house at 7:30p. This is who was there: Home Teacher (sitting on a 2-person couch on the left side of the living room) Mr. Toad (a guy in the ward, he's a nice guy, but just a friend and he was sitting in a lazy boy chair) and then Surfer Boy (sitting on a 2-person couch on the right side of the living room). So yeah, me and 3 guys. Awesome. I was still a little sore from my workout and so I sat in the middle of the floor and stretched and such. Shortly into our movie (The Incredibles) I scooched towards Surfer Boy's couch and put my back up against it. About 20 minutes after that, I jumped up into the couch. Next to Surfer Boy. and more next to Surfer Boy then not next to Surfer Boy if you get my drift. ;)

the movie continues. Surfer Boy leans into me and whispers "touch my shirt" okay, then. Don’t have to ask ME twice! I touch it. SOFTEST SHIRT EVER. Surfer Boy tells me it's Egyptian cotton. I swoon. I touch him again. Several times. (Throughout the movie of course. he laughs at me) Surfer Boy and I both get up at different times during the movie to grab a drink, or use the bathroom, or get a treat or whatever. Every time we come back, we sit next to each other. Like our whole sides were touching, but we weren't holding hands or anything. I was trying to mirror him. At one point he had his hand on his knee, very much open for hand holding. HOWEVER, I wasn't going to make that first move. But, I sat very similarly to him. ;) (I like to think that if it had been just the two of us and there hadn't been two other boys in the room he might have held my hand.)Also, he put his hand on my knee at one point to just pat it in regards to something I said. I’m pretty sure I swooned in that moment too. ANYWAYS, it was good times. I liked it. We got to talking about weekend plans, and I mentioned how much I wanted to go to the zoo...and so it was decided we would go to the zoo on Monday. Probably followed by a shooting expedition (since I’d never been. plus they claimed it to be fun.)

So that was Friday. Moving on to Sunday.

After Ward Prayer a bunch of us always gets together for a game night. I sat by Surfer Boy and played with him. This is when I discovered that Surfer Boy is VERY ticklish. Like, just as ticklish as me. So, I had fun with that and he promised to get me back on Monday at the zoo.

Monday - the zoo. With Grizzly Bear and Surfer Boy (and others). Not going to lie, I probably ignored Grizzly Bear a little bit more than I should have. He tried to pay for my ticket to get into the zoo, but I wasn't about to let him make it into a date. It would have been just awkward to have him pay for me. So I told him no. Probably hurt his feelings, especially when I didn't really hang out by him so much at the zoo. The zoo was me, Surfer Boy, Home Teacher, Mr. Toad S and Grizzly Bear. so...yeah. Definitely walked more by Surfer Boy than anybody, but overall just had a blast. We went to lunch and then Cabela's and THEN the boys took me shooting. Well, first we had to go get Surfer Boy's truck and guns and so he asked if anyone wanted to ride with him and I said, (after waiting a few seconds) "I will!" so...I did. LOVED that I got that little bit of alone time with Surfer Boy. We drove down to Springville and went up the canyon and I learned how to shoot a pistol and a shotgun (2 different kinds) I have a bruise on my shoulder forming from the shotguns, but it was SO FUN. Also, Surfer Boy kind of did the whole, hold my arms and help me thing. It was cute. I sat by Surfer Boy at FHE, but that was it. My plan: to not worry about him. I will flirt with him on Sunday, but I know he has some family coming into town this weekend and his roommate is getting married. So basically I'm just going to chill and hopefully he'll ask me out sometime in the future. I know we'll have some more movie nights (there are so many movies I haven't seen that he wants me to see). I'm just hoping we get to watch a movie again but just with the two of us. Heaven knows I need to not ask him out again for a while though. I really hope things sort of go somewhere so I can feel okay about asking him to go to the ballet with me at the end of October. :o)

so there you go....my weekend of adventures. I REALLY like Surfer Boy. LIKE A LOT. I just hope he has taken note of my flirty nature with him (cause it's mostly different compared to my flirty nature with other boys.)

Oh thank goodness...

I am so extraordinarily happy that it is Friday. Life has been crazy, but I've been able to live and let live and not complain too much. :o) I'm just excited that I get a 3-day weekend, a 3-day work week and then another 3-day weekend. Go me! ha ha ha.

It's day 19 of the 21 Day challenge dear friends. Today's challenge is to wear somethign on your head. Now, Kayla told us it could be absolutely anything - even a flower clip! However, I wear ribbons, flowers and headbands on a very regular basis, but I have two hats that I just don't wear that often. I decided to bust out one of the hats and push my comfort zone a little bit. I have a hat I love that my mom gave me for Christmas that I don't wear very often, at all, BUT my hair wasn't going to cooperate with that hat. So instead, I went with this:

{hat: Target}

cute, huh?! I paired it with this new top and jeans:

{sweater shirt: JC Penney, tank: DownEast jeans w/belt: JC Penney}

I couldn't get the colors to come out right on my iPod touch w/instagram...but the sweater shirt is a really pretty cider orange kind of color. And my new jeans? Love them. They are so comfy! and I love a good dark wash jean. :o)

It's Labor Day weekend y'all. Officially the end of summer, or something like that. It's starting to feel like fall a little bit around here. The weather has definitely been cooler in the mornings and evenings, and I love it.  Here are just a few things that I'm doing this weekend:

• Going to the gym and running tonight - meeting with my trainer tomorrow morning. I'll probably be dead by the end of it.

• Watching a movie with friends and then going to a dance party tonight. I think.

• Teaching choreography tomorrow morning.

• Cleaning the church building tomorrow morning.

• Watching my BYU Cougars. Oh how I am excited to see them on the field again. They make my heart happy.

• Helping my roommate sort out kitchen stuff. It will be fun times, I'm certain of it. :P

• Hopefully making some good headway on Sister B's wedding gift. I want to get it finished.

• Teach my Relief Society lesson. Here's hoping it goes well....

• Watching the CES Fireside. love.

• an adventure of some sort on Monday - maybe the zoo?

Should be a busy weekend. I'm rather excited. Have a great weekend y'all!!

Thursday Things!

• Friends - the workplace is CRAZY today. Seriously. The first of the month is always insane, but today....today is majorly insane. Just sayin' - not complaining. ;)

• It's Thursday. I love me some Thursday. I'm rather excited about Blue Tango tonight. It should be good times y'all. :o)

• I need to do laundry. I should work on that.

• Roommate A is moving out - anyone need somewhere to live in UT county and want to live with me?

• I'm an awesome roommate, I promise.

• Going to a movie night tomorrow night. Will cute boys be there? Possibly. Am I excited? hecks to the yes yo.

• I have awesome friends. The end.

• I'm teaching Relief Society on Sunday. I'm a tad nervous about this.

• Went to the gym last night - ran and walked 2+ miles. It was awesome here's the results (including my warm up/cool down)

• I'm loving my pink running shoes. They make me feel awesome.

• Played volleyball last night. In my pink running shoes. See above statement. yup, it was the best game ever.

• Today is Day 18 of the 21 Day Challenge. It is so quickly coming to a close! I can't believe it! Today's challenge? Statement Jewelry! I was uber excited about this challenge. I had bought some earrings w/Sister B last week - hoping that I could pull them off, and then I found out that today's challenge was statement jewelery...yeah they totally fit that category so, without  further ado, my outfit:

{yes, i'm wearing giant feathers. LOVE them - JC Penney's}

{I also wore this necklace again. JC Penney's}

{the whole kit and kaboodle! pants: Target, shirt: JC Penney's/DownEast}

•  It is September First y'all! I LOVE the month of September. My littlest sister is turning 16 - and that's just insane!! Also, my half birthday is this month. woo hoo!

• I am ready for the change in season - I just hope that fall lasts a LONG time and that winter doesn't just go forever and forever like it seemed to do last year.

I think that's everything. Life is good. I am very very busy these days, but that's okay. I like busy. :o) Have a great Thursday y'all!!

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!!

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!

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!

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)

Tender Mercy Tuesday - 31st Edition

Friends, I am so very blessed. Truly, very blessed. I love being able to take time each Tuesday to reflect on my life and all the small blessings that I have been given each day. I've had many blessings the past few days and I want to share them with you.

• I am getting a new calling at church and I'm rather excited about it. It's not going to be easy for me, but I always like a challenge. The tender mercy with this has been the personal revelation I've already received in conjunction with my calling. It feels good to know that Heavenly Father is looking out for me.

• My social life is such a blessing. Percy and I ended up moving our lunch date to today and it was so good to see him again. He's such a great guy and I love being able to spend time with him - even if it is so sporadic right now. I also have had fun times going one other dates here and there. I don't know where anything is going with any of these guys and that's okay right now. I definitely feel the need to take a little bit of time and step back and analyze my feelings for everyone involved. I feel bad because I want to go out with everyone every weekend - but I just can't do that right now. I literally have no time for anything in the evenings. Hopefully none of the guys think I'm blowing them off...except for Grizzly Bear. He can think that, since I'm definitely not interested in him in that way.

• I'm getting a new roommate next week. Some of you might remember the hubabaloo trying to get a 3rd roommate last year - this year it was a piece of cake. I hope she's nice and fits into the groove we have. I'm just thankful that we were able to sell her portion of the contract so quickly.

In the long run - I'm feeling very blessed. I have amazing friends that I can talk to and share my thoughts and feelings on life.

Just a side note on this whole dating thing - I think I'm realizing that dating is HARD. ha ha ha, I mean, I knew that already and what not - but things with SwingKid were so quick and easy that we didn't have to deal with the hard stuff of going out with other people at the same time, wondering about feelings, showing affection, etc.  And now....now I have to do all those things. In some ways it is a lot of fun to date a lot of people and stuff like that but it confuses my head and my heart. At some point I know I need to make decisions but for now I'm just going to focus on the musical. and my new calling. :)

Friday Things

Well guys, yesterday was a CRAZY day and I never got around to my normal Thursday Things post. So here is a Friday things instead! :o)

• I was late to work today. Totally slept through my one and only alarm that was in my room - left my phone in my car. Smart, Alishka, very smart. :P Luckily everyone was understanding. I've NEVER been late to work before (in my 2 years here!). 

• Needless to say it has been a very adrenaline filled morning. :o)

• I totally got ready for work in 10 minutes. I am awesome.

• The show is in less than two weeks. Insanity. I still can't believe I'm in the cast of AIDA. I keep pinching myself to make sure this is real!

• I have been feeling...."meh" about going out with Percy again. He is obviously a very slow mover and what not and I'm starting to wonder if we'll ever step things up. I'm not going out with him this weekend...and I'm okay with that.

• We (Percy and I) are going to lunch on Monday. His idea - which is a good sign right? sigh.

• Talked to Blindman2. Unfortunately my only available day for a date is his only unavailable day. :( And he has finals coming up and then I have the show...and pretty much we won't really be able to go out until after the show in August. :(

• HOWEVER, I did tell him he should come to the musical w/Truit and husband and we could go do something together afterwards. That will probably happen.

• Truit's husband also suggested we do another game night on a Sunday evening. That will probably also happen. I am okay with these things. Blindman2 is a cutie.

• I needed a date for Saturday night - and seeing as how I didn't want to take Grizzly Bear or Percy and Blindman2 was busy I decided to ask someone new out! He's in my ward and we worked together at church last summer. He was very nice on the phone and seemed more than willing and dare I say excited to go out with me on Saturday night! 

• Yay for dates with boys!

• My hair and I are not friends right now, but unfortunately with my schedule I can't get it done until after AIDA is over...one month from now. 

• Speaking of hair, I think I want to change it up - but seeing as how I'm still growing it out, I'm not sure what I want to do. :( Maybe a color change? I don't know.....I like the red!

• I'm thinking I need cupcakes this weekend. hmmm....

• I'm getting a new calling in church on Sunday. I'm very excited and nervous about it. I'll share the details with you later! :o)

well....that's all folks. A crazy day leading into a what looks like to be a really good weekend! Have a safe one!

a few Thursday Things

good morning dear friends. I am a little sore and achey this morning after my first AIDA rehearsal last night. However, let me just say this: This show is going to be INCREDIBLE. I am so excited to be a part of it!

anywho. moving on.

• miraculously my body isn't in THAT much pain. Just my arms. Which seems a tad odd to me seeing as how we don't do a TON with our arms...but that's where the most soreness lies. My arms.

• work has been insanely busy. my desk is still a disaster.

• I really sort of like Percy.

• I am really excited about my date this weekend with Percy. It should be SO MUCH fun.

• Remember how I sang a solo in church on Sunday? Yeah....it went pretty well. Everyone says it sounded good. Which is good.

• I saw this poster the other day on someone else's blog and now it has me all worried about dying. I sit at a desk for 9 hours people. Death is imminent.

• I have a friend who's blog I stalk (she's FABULOUS) and she posted the other day on unexpected blessings. I feel like she perfectly articulates what I've been feeling as of late after SwingKid broke up with me. 

• Another dear friend of mine posted a HUGE list of everything awesome to do in Utah this summer. I know I'll definitely be doing some of the things off this list.

• I love that I get to be in a show. It's definitely going to be a different experience...but I'm really excited about it.

• I am all twitterpated.

So there you go. a few  random things. I love things. I also love that is almost the weekend. The End.