Spice it up

The past couple of days I have been wanting to change up some things & make them a little bit spicier! Whether it be re-doing my bathroom, my sister's old room, my room, or this blog.. I'm going to find time do all the above in the next couple of weeks/months. Being crafty has not been my #1 thing, but here lately I've been finding neat things I could do to spice things up.

With my room being very.very.very small, I've tried to find ways to make it a room I would never want to leave. Since I've lived in the same house, and slept in the same room for the past 21 years, It is starting to become old. My Mom and I have been wanting to move out for years. I'm simply just ready for something new. Not necessarily new new, but new to me. :) I've looked at apartments and houses for rent.. but nothing seems to catch my eye. Honestly, I just don't think I could spend money on a home..right now. I could, I just don't really want to.

Last year I finally re-painted my room to a chocolate brown and have turquoise accents. So that is one thing check marked into spicing things up in my room. I would like to get new picture frames, furniture(I'm currently using what use to be my grandmothers bedroom suite), a new computer desk,curtains for not one. two. but three windows,a mirror for the back of my door,and lamps. I've also even thought about doing a little section of magnet paint to post pictures on with a magnet. I think that would be neat and different. They also make chalk paint, but I think it would be messy. It'd be cute for a child's room, though!

With my bathroom I've been thinking of painting it a La Fonda Fireberry color (see below) and get either black or white accents. When my sister was in high school, she made this tall shelf like thing that we are currently using in the bathroom for storage with hand towels,wash clothes,nail polish/remover,extra toilet paper,etc. & I would like to paint it either white or black.(Whichever color would look best with the main color) I would want for my dad to make a place to drop my blow dryer,curling iron, and straightener in like they have in salons. With only one plug outlet, things get in the way! I haven't really seen anything to give him an idea of exactly what I want, so if you of know of something.. lemme know! :) That's really the only thing I want to change to the bathroom. Oh! and the shower head. The main reason I want to change the shower head is due to buying one of those shelf-like-things that hang from the shower head, well the one we have is too short so the shelf-like-thing doesn't hang right. My luck, of course.

 La Fonda Fireberry

Then, I would like to paint my sister's room. Right now, it's a horrible bright yellow color. Way too bright and it's been like that since she was in high school.. definitely needs some updating! Ha I've thought about a Purple Royalty or a pretty green. I've always wanted to fix it up to be a hang out room so I can actually have people over and not have to sit in the living room or my bedroom. I would have to buy a lot of room decor to fix this room up. Trying to look online for ideas, it's not easy!

Purple Royalty 

On to this blog, if you haven't noticed.. I have added cute fonts to my titles, made them pretty colors, added a signature (I'm at work but once i get home I'm going to make an even cuter one!) added a blog divider and some new gadgets. I found a cute website (Kevin and Amanda) who had a post on how to change title colors and download new fonts for your blogger. & I recently noticed that the couple is from Huntsville.. kinda weird! I love how she explained it and it was very simple. If you're interested in doing so click here . Her post is very helpful. I've also enjoyed reading her other posts especially the ones on blog design - photography - and photoshop. Here lately I've been very interested in photography. So much that I think I'm going to take photography classes this Fall at Calhoun. I'm even going to ask the photography that takes Isabella's pictures (Kelly Clark Baugher Photography) if I could tag a long on some of her sessions. Hopefully, she wouldn't mind! :) So those blog posts from Amanda have been helpful. Hopefully I can spice this blog up! :) 

I'm going to be adding pictures of what the bedrooms & the bathroom currently look like and will show my slow progress of spicing em up! :)

Up in the Air

I'm on the plane flying from LA to Charlotte. I'm going back to "Sweet Home" Alabama after a wonderful and somewhat "short" 5 day stay with the Green's in Oceanside,California. I had a blast and very sad it had to end. I'll be going back to reality tomorrow morning at 9:30 when I walk through the doors at Crystal Mountain Water. :( Every time I'm on a vacation, I wish I could be on it forever. But who doesn't wish that? Maybe one day I'll get the chance to be able to just GO whenever and wherever. A girl can dream, right? :) This flight is really,really long and it's the only reason I'm ready to be home. Thankfully, the people sitting near me are quiet. I landed in LA on Tuesday at 12. I was so glad to see Chynna and the girls! Even though it had only been a little over a month since I had seen them last, it felt like it had been months! We loaded up the car and headed to Santee where Elizabeth and Jacob live. I had to get up at 3 a.m. because my flight was supposed to depart at 6, my luck it departed at 6:30 so I got there an hour and half early, unfortunately. (but, I guess better early than late) I was going on 3hrs of sleep because I was so anxious and making sure I had everything ready to go. We didn't do much on Tuesday besides go to the grocery store and get food to grill-out. josh grilled chicken/steak for all of us and it was delish! I felt sooo tired (and you could tell) so I went to sleep kinda early. The time change really messed me up because California is 2hrs behind Bama time, but I soon got used to it. Wednesday we went to downtown San Diego. We went to Ocean Beach and Coronado Island.. The beaches are SO beautiful and I'm so jealous that they live SO close to the beach, and that there is a variety of beautiful beaches they can go to! Thursday on our way to see Seals at La Jolla Beach we ate at In-N-Out burger, man I wish I had one right now! They were SO good and the south should really invest in one! The seals were too cute and lazy as could be! Friday I had to pack up all my stuff because we were going to Camp Pendelton for the weekend where Chynna so nicely rented a BEACH-FRONT cottage. I said my goodbyes to Elizabeth and sweet little Gunner! We got to the cottage and then went to the commissary and got groceries and then hurried back to the beach. Me and Kinsley had a great time building "sandcastles" & I loved seeing the beautiful,big waves! At one point the waves got so big we had to hurry and jump up and move our stuff! I panicked because last time I saw my phone and camera it was sitting on the sand, but thankfully Chynna put them in her bag.. I'm glad she was thinking! Saturday, Chynna and I took a morning stroll down to the area that had a little walkway separating the Beach and the Marina (I think that's what it was called) I love seeing the rocks by the beach and seeing the waves hit them. Sooo pretty! We went to the beach and laid out bout all day, I got a little sun.. I needed it! We ate at Joe's Crab Shack for dinner and then got icecream! I did not want the night to end because I knew it meant I was about to be back home! :( So now, here I am on an airplane patiently waiting to get off at Charlotte. Hopefully it's soon. I'm supposed to arrive there at 9. It's 7 Bama time, and I think there 3hrs ahead.. so I'm praying that we land soon. I get all kinds of confused of what time it is when the time changes! Ha silly me. I'll post pictures soon of my amazing trip! :)


xoxo
avs

Woman vs. Wild!

I'm definitely not the type of person who absolutely loves to read, but if it's a good book and I can find time to read it - I enjoy it. For the past couple of months, I've been trying my hardest to read the Bible and understand it better, because we all could use the Word to strengthen our relationship with God. I've also been reading Wilderness Skills for Women: How to survive heartbreak and other full-blown meltdowns a Christian book by Marian Jordan.  Wilderness Skills  helps women endure the spiritual droughts in their lives and emerge on the otherside victoriously. Using wilderness analogies, Marian Jordan leads women to the Bible, God's ultimate wilderness survival manual, for the answers to tough times. Thanks to Linda, this is one book I've truly enjoyed. I would recommend this book to any woman who has dealt with those full-blown meltdowns and would like to get over those silly heartbreaks & to draw closer to God. & It's only $9.99! Good deal. 

I thought my ex was "the one." I thought I was in love, but I finally let go. I'm the type of girl who gives 110 percent into something. I hold nothing back, I seriously give it all. And I did, I gave my heart.  I know God has a different path for me and I'm going to allow Him to guide me. During the months of heartbreak and confusion, I sensed God speaking one message to me. I figured out that I should open my eyes of faith and see the powerful hand of God moving. To not lose sight of the incredible plan of God in the midst of all the heartbreak. Trust Jesus when life seems too much. Trust Jesus when the trail disappears. Trust Jesus when the clouds roll in and your view is obscured. Trust Jesus when fear grips your heart. Trust Jesus when your plan fizzles. When a girl trusts Jesus, she places her faith in One who knows His way through the wild frontier and is familiar with her sufferings. If you choose to trust him, your life will not be boring, and it very well may not be safe, but i know for a fact that it will be a wild adventure.

Psalm 37:4-7

"Delight yourself in the Lord: And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and  your judgement as the noonday. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him."

Psalm 63:1

"You are my God. I worship You. In my heart, I long for You, as I would long for a stream in a scorching desert."

xoxo

avs

A-Day for Champions

This past weekend I went to Tuscaloosa and stayed with Blake and Kat. It was a very fun weekend, I was so happy to see them. It had been 2wks!  Tabitha, Raleigh, and I drove down right after work (around 5:30ish) and got there around 8.

 Tuscaloosa is a way better drive than Auburn is, whew! Auburn is like 3 1/2 or 4 hours. So 2 1/2 was sooo much better! Once we all freshened up *you would've have thought Katharine & Blake would've been ready, but of course not! ;)* we walked to mine & Tabitha's boss condo because they wanted to see us! Their kids go to Alabama, so they have a condo to stay at during Football season. I thought it was just down the street from Blake & Kat's apartment, so we walked. I was wrong. It was still in walking distance, but we had walked wayyyyy out of the way, so it seemed like it took forever to get there. I was just thankful I wasn't in heels! 

On our little adventure to the Robert's condo, I felt like I was re-living Cheerleading camp allll over again! Every year for Cheer camp we went to Tuscaloosa, and I walked those very same streets for 4days to go to camp. We finally got to the Robert's condo where my bosses,Nina and Terry, their 2 children: Erin & Brandon and Brandon's friend, Kent, were waiting on us. My bosses are so amazing that it didn't feel weird for hanging out with them! They are sooo funny. After we hung out there for awhile we went to Brandon's house. 

The next day was the A-Day game. The game was at 2, but the gates opened at 11. It was a free event, first come first serve kinda deal. We all wanted to get there early like at 12, but did we? No. We stayed out till 3 in the morning, so of course our lazy bones didn't get up! :P We finally left B & K's apt at 1:30 (thank goodness the stadium is in walking distance.. they are so lucky to be THAT close!) We didn't realize there was going to be THAT many people there, so it took us FOREVER to find a seat! Needless to say, we had to walk up to the VERRRRRRY top, stand in line for awhile, and then climb up about 50 steps! I was starting to feel sick because we were THAT high up! OH! Not to mention it was HOT as crap. We only stayed for about 45ish minutes, and headed back to the apartment

. We went and ate lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings, which was horrible. The one in Huntsville was a lot better.  They were not busy at all, but we waited for our food way too long than we should have! After we ate we went back to the apartment and took a "nap"... that "nap" lasted 3 hrs! Which made it 10 o'clock. We all got up, got ready, and finally went out at 11:30! I couldn't believe we were just getting our night started. We hung out at Brandon's house again, and had a lot of fun with him and his friends. We didn't get back to B & K's apartment till 5:30 a.m.! I was so tired, whew. The past 2wkends have been SO busy for me! I'm ready for this wkend so I can rest and relax!

Here are some pictures from the past 2wkends!

The Rodeo crowd::

Andrea & I

Trenton!

Terry, Me, *Coach Saban*, Nina, and Tabitha. (Our bosses!)

The Gang!

Nina, I love her!

Terry.. their such awesome people! This is why I love my job! :)

Blake

SO much Crimson & White, I love it!

YAY! National Champions 2009

The rest of the National Champion flags!

-xoxo-

avs

Half way there!

Today is Wednesday, which means I'm half way through the work week. Yay! This weekend is going to be another fun filled weekend. Tabitha, Raleigh, and I will be driving down to Tuscaloosa on Friday to stay w/ Blake and Katharine. We're going to the A-Day game on Saturday (a football 'scrimmage' between the crimson & white team) so we can get a little preview of what the Alabama Crimson Tide will look like this fall! I'm excited. I've never been and of course it's just another reason to get away from Athens and to have fun with friends! This past weekend I went down to Auburn and stayed w/ Andrea. We went to the 'Rodeo' and had a blast. I've discovered something new that I want! 

It is a ...

Flip-Video Camera

Flip Video Camera!

It's small and holds up to 3hrs worth of video! It runs off batteries (but of course you could buy the rechargable batteries) and all you do is hook it up to your computer and save the videos! Then if you wanted, you just buy dvd's to be able to put the videos on their. Pretty cool. It comes in white or black (why not pink?) and also some cute designs BUT if you get a design it's like an extra $100. I'm saving up for the white one!

Oh, and another thing I'm saving up for is................

CALIFORNIA!

(Chynna, if you're reading this.. we're still on for this trip.. riight? Lol)

That's right. I'm going to California, again! & I'm super excited about it. Maybe I should just move there? :) 


Have a good weekend!
-Alyssa


(I did this blog last Wednesday but forgot to publish it.. Oops!)

I'm Back!

I want to apologize for not being faithful to my blog like I wanted to be, but I can sure you that after today I will be bringing you the best stories of this life of mine.

Today is Sunday, the Lords day, a day of rest, and of course a day of football! This weekend I have enjoyed simply being lazy. Friday night we went to eat at Tokyo for Kristal's birthday. It was fun, enjoyable, tasty, and very pricey needless to say. I like Tokyo, but only once in a blue moon. Last weekend, Me & Makenze ordered Tokyo to go (yes, we drove to huntsville only to get food to go..) so, I wasn't thrilled about spending $20ish on the same meal in the same week, but it was Kristal's birthday, so I shouldn't complain.

After eating so much food and all of us being so full we couldn't move/breath.. we went to good ole' faithful, Blake's garage. I feel like he hasn't even 'moved.' Blake and Katharine have been home every weekend since their move to Tuscaloosa, so it has been nice to still see them even if it is for just one or two days a week. It's very weird without them 10 minutes away from me, when I could just drive over to Blakes basically anytime he felt like having people over, which was basically every night, but I wasn't one of those people that just came over. I like to stay home most of the time! Sadly, during the week I feel like I have zero friends. The person that I talk/see the most now is Tabitha. Why you ask? because I have never been close to Makenze, and the others, like I have been to Blake and Chynna. I hate having to text Makenze and to see what she/everyone is doing because I feel like if they wanted me to come, they would have invited me. Maybe I shouldn't feel like that, but I do. It's sad! We're all growing up, and I'm not liking it one bit!

Yesterday, I FINALLY went and got my hair done. It was definately looking horrid! For some reason, I hate going to get my hair done. I never have time during the week, and on the weekends all I want to do is be lazy, watch movies, spend time with friends & family, and that is it! I don't want to go anywhere other than a cozy home! And.. I hate having to fork out that kind of money! WHY is it so expensive to get a trim and roots touched up? This is when I wish I was a cosmetologist, or had a friend that would cut me a deal! Since I was in Athens, I wanted to see Bella so I went to Monica's and played with her all day.. in fact, I stayed the night because I love spending time with them. Bella is so much fun! Makes me wish I had one of my own, sometimes. Ha!

I'm excited about my 4day work week coming up. I feel more like an adult now that I have a full-time-Monday thru Friday-8-5ish job. Whew, never thought I would see that day! I decided to take this semester off, because being a full-time employee and student was too much for me. I may or may not go back. I honestly think school is not for me. I have prayed about it, and I know God will guide me through the right direction because I know He has a plan for me, so we will see.

My boss, Nina, told me that after they got back from their Christmas cruise and their trip to California for the Bama game (I was SO jealous! I would have loved to gone and see the Tide WIN the National Championship, oh! and to see my BESTEST friend and her family too, of course!) that I could take a day off...... WITH pay!! WOO-HOO! So, I thought a Friday would be good, so I took off this Friday and I'm going to head down to Tuscaloosa and meet Blake and Kat and go visit some other friends in Auburn! Should be a good weekend.

ta-ta for now! :)

-xoxo-

Alyssa

Please PRAY for the people of Haiti! & Donate if you can! A girl named Katie Snider that went to elementary school with me, was in Haiti during the horrible earthquake doing missionary work. She has safely returned back home in Athens!

Read her story here

[[Text Haiti to 90999 to donate $10 to Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti-YOU could save a life!]]