in case of emergency

lalalalalalalalalala

2012-02-01T20:47:00.003-07:00

today i was named team captain for a competition at work. we are cupid's arrows and we will dominate the competition and sell the most spa packages to those in love this valentine's season. it may come as a shock to y'all that i am the team captain, but i'm kind of bossy. and i did come up with the idea for the scoring for the whole competition and the team name, so i'm kind of a big deal i guess. and yes i know how lame i am sounding right now, maybe it's the runners high.

yep i said runner's high. after like a 2 year absence i have returned to the wonderful world of running. i just really wanted to do something good for me this year and return to a healthier state. is what i would say if that were true. i only started today on the first of february so that i can have almost 5 months to prepare for my first half marathon.

holy freaking crap i signed up for a freaking half marathon today!

okay stop applauding everyone. you are starting to embarrass me! it's no big deal. 13.1 miles is totes normal for anyone to run. just cross your fingers and pray really hard that i don't die.

and one more thing to add to this now really long and lame post. today i had a client tell me that i look like one julianne hough...then i started to wonder whether she was blind or not. you tell me...

ignore the fact that i was sort of trying to mimic her lame expression! i still maintain that my client is obvs blind!

i'm vain

2012-01-31T22:05:00.004-07:00

so i know that y'all have been dying to know what is going on with this boy...

he text me monday. 'hey'.

really? you don't talk to me for the entire weekend and then you just say hey? be serious with your life vampire wannabe! okay he really isn't a vampire wannabe, just his name is. anyway we chatted a bit today and turns out that he is sick and i sort of want to drop kick him when he is sick. why is it that guys turn into the BIGGEST babies when they are sick? he literally whined to me the entire phone call. lame.

oh and i got my hair colored today. it looks fantastic and i am obsessed with my hair all over again! please ignore the fact that this looks like a glamor shot with my hand placement.

what did you do this weekend?

2012-01-29T23:19:00.003-07:00

tonight consisted of...

+ watching mary poppins.

+ eating some questionable meat.

+ eating some delicious lasagna.

+ driving to the airport to pick up my very prego sister and her daughter.

+ playing jenga with my 3 year old twin nieces...they slaughtered me.

+ waiting unsuccessfully to hear from the same boy i mentioned in the last post.

+ still breaking my own rules. fetch!

+ talking to my sister until well past our 10:00 pm bedtimes.

+ listening to my sweet little jane sing every word to 'when i am baptized' with her mom for her bedtime song...so sweet that i cried in the corner.

jenga will now be my new obsession! i'm going to have a rematch with the twins asap. i need to get what little street cred that i used to have back.

in case you were wondering

2012-01-28T00:28:00.004-07:00

yes this is the smallest ice cream cone that i have ever seen. it was delicious as well. tonight we celebrated my friend matt's 30th birthday and his graduation with his mba. congratulations and happy birthday dear one! i may or may not have been the 3rd person to receive a tiny ice cream cone...after a 3 year old and a 4 year old. who cares if i'm a child still.

so if you didn't know this about me yet you may be shocked...but i'm not a normal girl! *gasp* i'll explain. actually i think i may have actually explained this before but just for my pure enjoyment i will rehash this. i don't like to hold hands. i think that flowers, chocolate and candlelight is lame. i don't obsess about whether a guy is going to text me back or not. i don't text a guy to fill a non communicative silence. i would die of embarrassment if i got flowers sent to me. i hate being called anything other than my name...no baby, sweetie or honey. *let me make it very clear that i think it is fine for other girls to enjoy these things, it's just not for me!*

but tonight i broke a rule of my own. i text a guy to fill a non communicative silence. much to my dismay it back fired and i have yet to hear back from him. breaking another one of my rules, obsessing about whether this guy will text me back or not. i guess it was bound to happen. i was born a girl and as much as i have tried to fight it, i have started to act like one! i held out on the whole dress like a girl thing until i was 21 so i guess that holding out until i was 26.5 to act like a girl is pretty good right? oh man! i will say that i am glad that i have skipped this for my whole life and am just now experiencing it because i am pretty sure i would have been a basket case for the majority of my existence! so if i go crazy in the next day i think i will go back to acting like a dude.

drama drama drams

2012-01-19T21:51:00.004-07:00

sometimes things happen in your life to make you stronger.

sometimes things happen in your life to make you humble.

sometimes things happen in your life to make you laugh.

sometimes things happen in your life to make you cry.

sometimes things happen in your life to make you find yourself a little more.

sometimes things happen in your life to test your strength.

sometimes things happen in your life to draw you closer to your family.

and sometimes things happen in your life that do all of those things and more. this week has been such a time. i can't tell the story anymore because honestly i have told it so many times that it hurts my head to think about it anymore. i have just learned that people are just plain crazy and need to be put in either jail or an insane asylum. i have got to play detective and pull some pretty stealthy moves, so i will be available to solve your crimes shortly i am sure. don't worry i am okay. and my family is okay. the Lord only gives us what we can handle, so i know that no matter what happens we will be able to handle this and that the truth and right will win. evil will be forced to run away with it's tail tucked between it's legs...well they might be in jail, but that is beside the point. pray for us. pray that right will win...and speedily. because my children this too shall pass.

question of the day

2012-01-16T22:09:00.003-07:00

so for christmas my dear friend rae rae gave me a journal that asks a question everyday that you answer. only it has spaces for the next 5 years! all you do is fill in the year and then answer the questions! it really is a fantastic idea i believe. i mean i will essentially get to see how my answers change over the next 5 years or how they stay the same. some questions are as follows: did you sleep alone last night? what's your favorite accessory? the first thing you ate today was? what was the last tv show you watched? when was the last time you went swimming. etc, etc, etc.

the best part is that it only takes like 1 minute for me to answer and then i am done! if real journaling was this easy i think i would most definitely write in my journal daily. sad.

i smell like clorox

2012-01-06T00:13:00.002-07:00

i had a special guest arrive at work today! it was such a shock to see this person as i was blow drying my client that i didn't even know what to say. he said he was just stopping by to say hello. upon leaving after making an appointment for a haircut, my client said that she thought he was totally into me. i laughed and then divulged the dirty details of the 10 year relationship roller coaster and she said the she wished he would 'balls up'. i laughed even more and went on my way blow drying her hair. oh the adventures i have had at work this week.

the really fun adventure was yesterday. as i mentioned i have joined an online dating site. it is hilarious for real. i signed up on a thursday night. friday morning i had 3 emails and 6 flirts from different guys. i laughed out loud and began to weed out the duds. anyway. there is this guy. his name will be c. c emailed me last week and we began to email back and forth. he is a really great guy! he gave me his number and i text him the next day. as we were 'talking' he asked if i would like to cut and color his hair. now most girls would shy away from dating a guy who colors his hair, but i do hair so it doesn't bother me in the least bit. i gave him the number to my salon and then he asked me out for dinner. i agreed and that was that. i got to work yesterday and saw his name on my books. i freaked out and told my friends...first mistake! i was booked solid that day so i really didn't have much time to think about it really. it wasn't until i went to lunch half an hour before his appointment that i started to get a little nervous. i ate my arby's in record time as everyone was counting down for me. 'aly it's 1:45 he is almost here' things to that effect. when they brought me his traveller my nerves came rushing and i trudged up to the waiting area. i called his name and he stood up and shook my hand. he was just as cute in person as he was in pictures. he was super tall...i guess i don't know anyone else who is 6 foot 5. he sat in my chair and work aly kicked in and i asked all the details of what he wanted for his hair and went to mix the color. everyone trickled into the break room to give me their two cents as to how he looked. i finished mixing, took a deep breath and went back to my station. i got right to work and the conversation began. he is pretty easy to talk to since i was in work mode. i applied his color and we chatted for the 30 minutes of processing time and we washed him out. i gave him a scalp massage and then cut his hair and he was on his way. my friend at the front desk told me today that as he was paying he kept looking back at me and smiling. so awkward to have the first time you meet a guy to be at your work! i'm sure that i acted like a goober, but i had that night to redeem myself when we went to dinner. and i won't go through the details of dinner. if you want to know them you can call me. i will say that it was good.

the whole point of that story is that it was really really really weird to meet him for the first time with all my friends/coworkers looking on. but really really really funny at the same time. the end.

2011 in review

2011-12-31T02:12:00.002-07:00

okay so i know i have been a really crappy blogger as of late. but guess what? 2012 is my year. it has already been decided so i think that part of my year will include blogging on a regular basis. there i said it. it's out in the universe and so it shall be done! let's review what has happened this year shall we?

i watched both my roommates meet, fall in love and marry their one and only's. i moved in with a texan and it was the best move of 2011. i got proposed to in haiti by a vendor. i went on my annual flaming gorge trip. i bought a lot of clothes...a lot. i expanded my shoe collection by approximately 15 pairs of shoes. i stayed up past midnight almost every night. i stayed awake for a whole 24 hours. i had a 5 hour and 45 minute phone conversation. i got extensions. got second place in a singing competition. hiked dunn's river falls in jamaica. went cliff jumping in a jungle river in jamaica. learned how to boogie board on the back of a cruise ship's flow rider. joined the world of online dating...gasp! i went to logan for a wedding. saw my grandpa for the first time in 22 years. knit 2 pair of gloves. i got proposed to by 2 rastafarian's in jamaica, one named barrington and the other bob. went para sailing in mexico. ate curried goat, really greasy like duck. caught a horny toad lizard. went skinny dipping...gasp! went on a dam tour. did hair for 3 weddings. made 7 tissue paper puff balls. went to a rodeo. sold my car. bought a car. threw out my back again...over my birthday weekend. watched one of my childhood friends get married. went to about a million movies. survived humongous waves on the ocean. finally got over a certain someone. fell in love with ryan gosling. found 3 gray hairs! discovered pintrest and therefore wanted to die quickly after. finally finished reading the glass castle after about a year of reading it.

i know there is a lot more exciting things that i could have reported about, but i'm really tired and can't think clearly with the crazy wind outside my window right now. i can concentrate on this however, 2011 was a great year. i can't complain. it was full of a lot of hard things, but somehow i survived and found out a little more who aly is. because no matter how hard or crappy things can seem....someone out there has it harder or crappier than i do. i have a car. i have a house to live in. i have a job. i have my health. i have a family who loves me. i have amazing friends who keep me sane. and i have a loving heavenly father. what more could a 26 year old gal wish for? onward and upward 2012! happy new year folks.

yep this is happening

2011-12-08T01:16:00.002-07:00

i am currently running on 4 hours of sleep and yet it is 1:18 am and i am still wide awake! my reasons for staying up late last night and for staying up late tonight are so different, but i am finding that all in all i am just as happy tonight was i was last night! thanks to a and c. ha ha!

tonight's events included this...

it is my paper chain countdown to when i can get my iphone. yep. i'm in fourth grade still.

another note

2011-12-05T01:47:00.001-07:00

this is the last thing tonight i promise!

char is having twins again...i know i have mentioned that before.

but i didn't mention that they are......

BOYS!!!!!!!!!!

yay for future nephews!

thanksundance

2011-12-05T01:25:00.003-07:00

my grandpa (toni's dad) came out from arkansas with his wife (carolyn) for thanksgiving. now grandpa (dean) and carolyn haven't ventured to the great state of utah for 22 years. so to make it easier to understand...i hadn't seen them since i was 4. my mom was pregnant with emme when they last came so emme hadn't ever met them! crazy is right. all i remember about our first meeting was that he took us all for a ride on his motorcycle...so you can imagine as a 4 year old that was pretty cool. then he breezed on out of your lives for 22 years.

i had just finished curling and spraying my hair when they knocked on kate's door. i was the last to greet them and i just could hear carolyn say 'oh my god dean, look how pretty she is!' in a really think midwestern accent which coincidentally sounds like a cheese head...from wisconsin. they are a fantastic retired couple who will tell the same story while talking over each other the whole time, leaving you to struggle to know which one to listen to. only to find out that once you make eye contact with either one you are stuck in their non stop talking until either you have to go to the bathroom or fake an injury.

dean loved to talk about his 2 lexus....which i think you should pluralize to lexii. your thoughts? they also really loved to talk about how much money carolyn's daughter pearl has. which is fine, but i think i should get a cut of that money for being pearl's step niece...right? on thanksgiving day it was dean's 79th birthday! so we celebrated by making real mashed potatoes rather than potato pearls. and also by stuffing our faces full of turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, shirley's rolls and various pies, banana cream being my personal favorite as always. it was the good thanksgiving ever, even though i lost mario party yet again. stupid single siblings! then we sat around talking and for me playing angry birds on my mom's new kindle fire. yep i am just like a 12 year old...boy.

the day after thanksgiving was my mom's (toni) birthday. so i celebrated by working at 8am! no we really celebrated by heading to sundance to meet up with the garn's for an adult only dinner at the tree room. really fancy we are. well actually we aren't. turns out that after dinner char told me that she wished we would have sat differently at the table so that all the single kids would have been separated and not all at the same end of the table. whatever. dinner was delicious and we stuffed our faces with our individual desserts and a giant delicious chocolate birthday cake. we bought my mom a new ski jacket. she was stoked. then we went back to the cabin they were staying at (it belongs to olivia newton-john...omg!) and just hung out with the kids for a bit. it lost it's magic when i asked grace (10 year old niece) if she was excited for hawaii, seeing as they were leaving in 4 days. her reply was, and i'm not making this up...'yeah, but not really. i wish we were going to maui instead.' oh boo freaking hoo grace, you HAVE to go to oahu instead of maui. your life is so hard! that girl has been on an airplane more than i have and i am in my mid 20's! kids just say the darndest things!

so anyway...happy birthday dean and toni. i hope you both had the good birthday ever!

where have you been?

2011-12-05T01:02:00.003-07:00

i know that is what so many of you are thinking right now. well let me tell you all...

i was in the western caribbean oct 30-nov 6.

i have been working non stop.

i was in farmington for thanksgiving.

i was at sundance the day after thanksgiving.

i went to carrabbas for the first time ever.

i have been in a state of bitter cold.

i have been so unproductive it feels like.

i have no cruise pictures yet because my new roomie has them all on her computer and i am patiently waiting for a cd of all 1,000 pictures.turns out that 3 girls can generate a whole crap load of pictures.

hold the phone...this is also new!

yep that is me. and yes those are extensions! i know what you are thinking, and yes i do look really pretty. it took me about a week to get over them and stop talking about them non stop. and then another week to get my attitude into check as well. turns out looking like a 'summer sales' guys girlfriend makes you want to be a major wench! like all the time. so i am sorry if i have offended anyone, but it was the hair.

at thanksgiving i asked my mom if we were going to go around the table and say what we were thankful for and she said sure. so i started and ended by say that i was thankful that i was so pretty...mind you this was still week 1 of the extensions so i was still self absorbed. after that my mom put a stop to the thankful party and we just finished eating. maybe next year we can revisit the whole meaning of thanksgiving.

so more about the cruise. it was fantastic and i didn't want to come home. when i get my cd of pictures i will post numerous amounts of visuals and stories to go along with.

the anti cold

2011-10-25T01:40:00.002-06:00

last night i slept for 11 hours. i took some cold medicine, laid my head on the pillow at 11:06 and was out by 11:30. i woke up at 10:28 am. it was so spectacular that now i can't sleep. so here i am at 1:42 in the morning and blogging to the world wide web about nothing really. i feel like there has been a few things recently where i thought...hmmmm maybe i should blog about this. and right now i really for the life of me can not think of them at all.

i leave for my cruise this week. in about 4.5 days i will be on my way to orlando to board a ship to set sail for the western carribbean. do you understand what this means? this means that i will be soaking up the sun, drinking unlimited amounts of diet coke, +thanks to my drink card+ eating unlimited amounts of soft serve ice cream cones and not working. in fact i will be so far from working that i will probably forget how to even do hair when i get back. i'm sort of really excited about that. but in actuality i am so far from prepared to go on this trip. today when i was talking to a client i realized that i had no idea where my passport ended up after my move. i got home from work, checked the spots that i would have placed it and came up empty handed. i was so panicked so obviously i went tanning. tanning really clears my mind. then i went to the store bought more cold medicine and candy and had an epiphany. i came home, went straight to my vanity drawer, looked under my pile of wedding announcements and found my passport. and it was all thanks to tanning!

and just so you all know i am really loving my new living arrangements. i love that my roommate is a night owl like me. i love that i don't have to share a bathroom for the time being. i love that dishes are NEVER in the sink. i love that the fridge isn't so jam packed all the time. i love that my room seems bigger. i love that i can walk to my bathroom in my underwear if i want to. i love that everyday i realize how alike natalie and i are. i think this is going to be a wonderful thing.

and in the off chance that a certain someone that i wrote a certain rude text to tonight is reading this...i'm sorry i was such a b****h. i just thought i deserved to make a low blow like that. okay thanks!

why oh why

2011-10-20T23:38:00.001-06:00

today while talking to my sister char on the phone she told me she was still getting ready for the day when i had given her an hour already to do so. her reply was...i have 4 kids aly! i told her that she was like the boy who cried wolf, but only she was the mom that cried too many...too soon. in about 5 months she will add two more to her brood and then what will she say then? i can't aly i have 6 kids? lame excuse if you ask me! people have been having 6 kids for thousands of years and they didn't even have iphones...i think you can handle it char.

in other news, my sister katie decided to cut my two year old niece millie's hair today. oh didn't i tell you all, my sister went to nursing school, not cosmetology school. so when she explained to me that one side was an inch shorter than the other and the back was longer than the sides, i asked her what she was thinking. she replied...i thought how hard could it be, i've watched aly do this before. well kate...it's 2000 hours worth of beauty school hard!!! i love when people down play my profession by saying how hard could it be. i had to endure the hell that is called beauty school in order to get my name written incorrectly (funny story there) on an official license for the state of utah to practice cosmetology! so i fixed the hooligans hair and reminded her that no one cuts her hair...especially her mommy.

oh yeah and in 8 days i will be headed on a cruise...i'm just saying.

well...

2011-10-10T23:57:00.005-06:00

this is what i look like after moving 70+ pairs of shoes into my car.

i'm supposed to be packing to move in the morning, but instead i am blogging. i think i am kind of an idiot for moving without any boxes involved. moving tomorrow is sort of a last minute thing and i'm not prepared at all. my laundry basket is chuck full of dirty clothes, i haven't even thought about my kitchen stuff, i haven't even thought about my food and my bathroom supplies is a whole other story. i guess i do actually perform really well under pressure and tomorrow will be a huge test in that theory. i am leaving my humble abode for the past year and a half for a grand new adventure! i am moving in with this girl...

natalie is her name and she is pretty much amazing and i am so excited to be her roommate. we are going on a cruise at the end of this month to celebrate her birthday and i couldn't be more excited!

wish me luck on the moving process...heaven knows i will need it!

i live

2011-09-27T00:10:00.002-06:00

so i will tell you why i haven't blogged for a while, but you have to promise not to laugh or make fun of me. deal.

i started watching mad men on netflix.

it has consumed my life to the point of even winging out my eyeliner and wearing lipstick. but not to the point where i am considering dating an older married man. as it turns out that is a big no no in the modern world. but i have developed a bipolar relationship with donald draper/dick whitman. in one episode i will love him and then in like 10 minutes i will hate him and want to hurt him in ways that would prevent him from having any more little drapers. the point is that i wish i was in my early twenties in the 60's. i like to think that i would have been one of the sobbing secretaries when marilyn monroe and jfk died. i'm just saying.

but to be totally honest i have been really busy in my not so exciting life. work has been excruciatingly slow and so i leave early a lot. i figure my manger will thank me for that later when she is only paying me for the hours that i am actually working at work. makes sense to me. the former roommate/bff jenn got hitched last thursday in logan. pictures to follow when i decide to not be lazy. i colored my hair after like 2 months. spent some quality time with each sister individually. yep, i'm family oriented now. my sister is having twins again. yes AGAIN! the garn clan will have a final tally of 8 members as of march/april 2012. (i can't remember when she is actually due...i'm the good aunt/sister ever.) i went to flaming gorge...did i mention that already. well i did go and it was glorious. it was sort of a secret i think, but now it's out in the blog world. good thing no one of immediate flaming gorge importance reads this blog. oh and i found pintrest. only i found it too late and now everyone and their dog is following me and i'm sort of over it. but it was fantastic and glorious while it lasted. maybe i will pick it up again in like a year and i will be cool again.

and my latest vice is wint-o-green lifesavers. i bought a little bag and i feel like it is mary poppins bag and it never ends! i love it. i think i ate one every 10 minutes at church on sunday. i had the freshest breath this side of state street.

bon iver just said the f word to me. jerk.

happy birthday twins!

2011-08-30T17:57:00.005-06:00

my twin nieces turned 3 a little bit ago! they are so huge and talking machines! i just love them and will accept a chance to hang out with them over anything! it has been so fun to live to close to them and watch them grow. can't wait for them to get older and older!

sadie and aunt aly

beautiful janie

almost impossible to get us all in the picture

cheesy faces as per jane's request

LOVE her

happy birthday girlies

eating their birthday cookies with g.ma

auntie em pushing millie moo on the swings

all ready for presents

they love cousin zoe

sadie practicing her 'big eyes'

me and emme

mrs jenks shower

2011-08-18T22:48:00.005-06:00

yeah it was pretty cute

the banner i made for jenn + josh

some of jenn's favorite treats

me, jenn and morgan

kari, jessie and melissa

camille, michelle and megan

marie, jenn and cat

cat and jen, jenny, natalie and talese

me and the future mrs. jenks

yeah this was funny.

and then it got hilarious!

how i ended my night waiting for jenn to make me macaroni and cheese. what will i do without my jenn?

out of my mind

2011-08-18T21:50:00.003-06:00

yeah

so i may or may not have touched up my shellac gel polish with a regular fingernail polish that looks similar. yep that is how trashy i have actually become.

but to be honest...you can't even tell which ones i touched up. so jokes on you shellac!

no, what really makes me trashy this week was when i went to the beauty supply store to buy my eyelashes i picked up a new pair of neck trimmers as well, since my old pair {7 years old} now sound like a boeing 747 jet plane after being dropped an infinite amount of times. well the cheapest pair just happened to be zebra print. yep. and okay fine the beauty supply store was sally's but i really needed another month's supply of lashes! the point is that i text alex to let him know that the next time i cut his hair he won't actually go deaf from having a jet plane right next to his eardrum and his response was that the zebra print was more slutty than trashy. cool. thanks alex.

if you hold on just a moment i will upload pictures from jenn's shower! won't that be delightful!

5 hours 45 minutes

2011-08-13T06:33:00.002-06:00

that would be my all time longest phone call ever

what started as a way to not walk home alone trying to avoid the hijackers

turned into almost six hours of laughing hysterically

with an old friend who turns out i've been a crappy friend to as of late

a friend who i think knows me better than most

someone who i can always pick back up right where we left off

a friend who i care for deeply

it was fun

it was sad

it was scary

it was intense

and i loved every minute of it

we are meeting for breakfast in about 2 hours

no sleep for a saturday full of work

priceless

2011-08-10T00:23:00.002-06:00

please consider this my 'are you freaking kidding me?' face.

there was a car hijacking in my apartment complex on sunday morning! a freaking car hijacking!!! how ridiculous is that? and another one in pg about the same time. the people had a freaking gun held to their face and the one car.jacker dumped the car behind macey's and the other backed out half way through, fired two shots in the air and a car picked him up and they peaced out! it was on the news and everything, and it showed the very streets that i drive on daily. i'm freaked out now to drive anywhere. tonight my mom told me that if someone tries to hijack my car to just let them take the car. i don't know what i would do if i had a gun held to my face and i was forced to leave my car. i'm sure i would burst into tears and beg them not to kill me. i am a little dramatic like that i guess. but still having my car hijacked is never something that i have had to worry about until now. thanks ksl news for making me paranoid! this is why i would rather be uninformed!

my new obsession

2011-08-08T23:47:00.000-06:00

LOVE this song. listen to the story people...we have all been there at one point or another!

okay

2011-08-07T23:43:00.002-06:00

now i am ready to tell you why i had such a hellish week.

we had a special event at work this week. there is a lady named barbara barrington jones who does seminars for woman. they have classes on various topics ranging from how to take care of yourself mentally, physically and spiritually. she paid for these 153 women to get their hair cut and make up done at our salon, and if any of these women wanted color, they paid for it themselves. well that translated into over 100 colors in two days when we don't even do 100 colors in one week at work! we were all scheduled from 7:30 am until 6:00 pm coloring, cutting and styling hair for these women! the event took up our attention on tuesday and wednesday and we each did about 4 colors and 8 haircuts in one day! so after 2 days i did 8 colors, 6 haircuts and 2 blow dry styles. i was exhausted and my jaw hurt from smiling after the first day. it was a rough experience, but it was a good learning experience. i found out that i am pretty awesome at selling product, that i can actually double book and not want to kill myself and that i'm not really a nice person naturally and should probably work on that!

since the event was on tuesday that meant i had to forgo my usual day off to help these women. and since the event took over 2 days at the salon i was booked solid the next 3 days of the week! i didn't really have much of a break and i was exhausted! i woke up saturday morning almost convinced that it was sunday and almost went back to sleep! but after i finally did get to sleep in today until about 12:15 and was only productive for about 3 of the 12 hours i have been awake! hopefully this week will be better and i won't want to go crazy!

2011-08-05T23:42:00.002-06:00

good news!

after two whole years of having these picture frames on my wall i finally put pictures in them! mrs. grewal you may notice the picture in the bottom frame is your christmas card pic from 2009. yes that picture of you and ashton sitting on a dock with sunnies and a wreath has made the cut and will remain there until further notice. to all others who have made the wall congratulations, but don't get too cocky! this is a prestigious wall and you have to earn your spot, so watch yourself!

in other news...tonight me and my sister went to a wedding dinner at the joseph smith memorial building in salt lake city. it was a delicious buffet and i was more than happy with the delicious tiramasu. after realizing that i had accidentally worn the wedding colors looking like a bridal party reject, and discussing whether or not the silverware we were using was in fact brigham young's personal flatware the bride and groom shared a slightly awkward first dance while we ate cake. then they vacated the vicinity to go to sleep. wink wink. anyway, the point of this retelling is this...after the dinner we both had to use the little girls room. thinking there was one down a long hall and my bladder threatening to get tired we asked a gentleman for directions to a restroom. this older gentleman glanced down at his watch and said...'well if you don't take longer than 5 minutes you can go into the second door on the left.' we promised that we wouldn't and ran frantically through the family history library to the potty. as i was in my private stall i got to thinking what this guy thought we would be using the bathroom for, for longer than 5 minutes? maybe he thought we were building a bomb. or that maybe we had stolen the wedding cake and were secretly eating it in the family history library bathroom cause that is the most secluded place there. or my personal favorite, and the only one that made me giggle whilst i peed... maybe he thought we were going to roll a joint and get high! granted it really isn't that funny, but it has been one h.e.l.l of a week and i am really tired. but more on that later.

onward and upward friends!

b.t.w.

2011-07-28T23:38:00.005-06:00

these gems came in the mail yesterday

yep i am the best un.official bridesmaid ever! i was so excited for these to get here and they turned out just as i wanted them to!

this is how i addressed them. my mom bought these stamps for me about a year ago at a yard sale for like $2 and it was well worth it!

i'll be your un.official bridesmaid too!

just another thursday

2011-07-28T22:48:00.003-06:00

things that i have discovered today

+ coldstone at the university mall smells like bum hole

+ we get a mall employee discount at coldstone

+ the spa at work makes me want to fall asleep

+ i look like death when i just wear my lashes

+ pintrest can be a bit addictive

+ i hate beauty school students who ignore me

+ i am the only person who doesn't get a day off next week at work due to a really lame event we are hosting...annoying!

+ i'm still in the club

+ baby gap has really cute little girl stuff

+ color wipes take off the residue of a stamp pad

good day

if you ask me

one more thing

2011-07-26T00:49:00.002-06:00

i did go swimming finally this summer. i returned to farmington pool after about a 10 year absence. weird to think that i would spend like 8 hours there a day in the summer!

yeah i look sooo disgusting i know

halle sporting grandma's hat...sexy rexy halle!

oh yeah

2011-07-26T00:46:00.002-06:00

and i went to a rodeo in july. yep. me at a rodeo. here is proof.

jenn and i super excited to be there

trent, janae, josh, jenn and me

super long post!

2011-07-25T23:46:00.008-06:00

so since i never posted about the 4th of july, i guess it is fitting to do so on the day that pioneer day was observed...the 25th of july.

how did i spend my 4th of july?

i woke up at a super early and magical time to get to work by 10 am. yep i had to work. you would think that you would be busy if you worked at the mall on the 4th of july, but you would be very wrong. i had a total of i think 2 clients that day. awesome. i got my hair colored finally though. after like 3 long months i decided that my nasty grown out hair really didn't look melted and it just looked really nasty and white trash. so what did i do? i melted my hair and went blonde. well blonde for me. not that nasty platinum and black skunk stripe fiasco that i tried to pull off in beauty/high school. it's super cute as you will see in the pictures if they ever upload!

moving on. after work, i sped up to farmington where there was already a family bbq in progress. don't worry char did call to make sure it was okay if they ate without me. love you family. anyway. all ireally cared about was mom's potato salad. as long as i had that i was a happy little girl. i think we had grasshopper pie too...i can't remember. after dinner and a few rounds of bocci ball we headed to the driveway to do some fireworks. due to char and randy actually being in the country for the 4th of july, grace's dreams came true and she got to help uncle jake light the fireworks. last year grace told me i was the worst because i wouldn't let her do it...um her parents were thousands of miles away and i wasn't about to let her blow her hand off! oh well. i was super awkward all night on the account that my sister had her new boyfriend there and jake had his'girl'friend there too. oh and matt had my mom...so i was the loner single sibling that sat next to the 5 and 7 year olds while we oohed and aahed over the fireworks. all in all it was a glorious independence day and i was glad to be american, even though my client told me i was unpatriotic today. thanks kyle.

sadie and millie

jane being mischievous

jake and anna

emme and greg

me and mom

dad and matt...the odd couple

the cool kids playing bocci ball

me and emme

sadie, halle, zoe and jane

char, randy and the twins

getting them all to look was difficult

n8 dawg

millie helping uncle jake

my new hair!

g.force ready to go

a little pyro in the making

me and zoe

me and sadie

friday isn't so fun anymore

2011-07-23T22:34:00.004-06:00

last night i got to hang out with my dear friend jessie. we met for dinner at olive garden, perused a few dresses for her sisters wedding, grabbed some ingredients at macey's and made no-bake cookies. jessie had a few things to do down in utah county today so she slept over. we talked about boys and giggled like little girls. at 11:11 pm exactly a knock came on the front door. jessie advised me not to answer it as she didn't want to be bugged by anyone. i snuck to the peep hole to see who had the audacity to ruin our night! it was a teenage girl with her head bent down in what i would soon find out to be bent with shame. it was a little creepy. i broke down and opened the door.

um...hi. is that your saturn vue in the middle driveway?

okay so any time a person asks if it is your car the next words out of their mouth are never going to be good! my heart sank to the pit of my stomach and i responded in the affirmative. well this rebecca black look alike went on to tell me that she has backed into my car...that was parked in my driveway. then she apologizes and tells me that she is a 'new driver'.

fantastic!

well thanks to the fact that my car is a saturn and can't really dent the damage was minor. some scratches on the bumper and a delicious 2 inch crack on the top of the bumper with spidery ripples of paint about to chip. i am just baffled as to how she even pulled this off! she was in a parking stall, backed up at least 2 car lengths out of the stall and then into my car. i will draw a picture...

well that ought to explain it all right? just kidding. i suck at drawing. anyway, as my picture clearly indicates...mathematically speaking it is totally impossible for this to have happened unless this girl was totally and 100% baked. right? okay she wasn't baked, just a really bad driver. i was super nice to this 'new driver' and even offered up the story of how one of my friends who will remain nameless drove through my neighbors fence once. it was awesome.

then the part came where she gave me her insurance information and then turned to me and asked if that was all we needed to do. well i didn't know, but it dawned on me...i was the freaking adult in this situation! how and when did that happen? i had to have all the answers, but i didn't. i thought back to my last accident. the one where i slid into a curb on the way to church and i called my sister char who didn't answer, tried her husband and he didn't answer. tears were welling up in my eyes and then the phone rang and char's voice was the crack that broke the dam of tears and i bawled like a baby in front of total strangers. my hair matted to my head from snow and mascara running down my face these strangers who kept calling me 'sis' kindly drove me to american fork where char took care of helping get my car towed and then later figuring out how my life would go on. so fast forward to last night, i took her info, gave her my name and number and then went inside pissed as all get out.

jessie and i ended up watching ever after and giving each other back rubs. so my night wasn't completely ruined. you failed rebecca black look alike. now let's just pray that my car won't take a million years to fix! okay thanks!

ahem...

2011-07-19T00:11:00.002-06:00

i have made a decision.

i am going to play the cello. yep i am going to buy a cello and take lessons. this decision was made final last night while watching august rush for the 4th time. every time i watch it i think...i want to play the cello...and every time the thought goes away. not this time. it has stuck with me and i have thought about it all day long! i have even contemplated asking one of my client's if she would want to teach me!

i have always been fascinated by the cello. i love the way it sounds, i love the emotion that it brings out in music, i love the way that people look when they play it. i already really get into the piano when i play it, so i just know i will be funny to watch play the cello. my only fear is that the old saying...you can't teach an old dog new tricks...will prove true for me! i mean i am 26...that's like what 182 in dog years right? but you will never know unless you try right?

this purchase will have to wait until i return home from my cruise november 6th. that is right ladies and gentleman, i am going on another cruise! i could not be more excited. i am heading to the caribbean this time and will depart utah on october 29 and return november 6. it's good to be me when i get to go on cruises!

my roommate jenn is engaged to be wed on september 23. in logan. logan wedding = lame. i really wish it was a destination wedding somewhere, well anywhere but logan. oh well. i am a really good friend and an even better stylist so i will be there to throw around my love and support to all. anyway we are going wedding dress shopping tomorrow. weird. yeah just weird.

cleaning up is fun to do, to do, to do.

2011-07-11T22:48:00.003-06:00

tonight in cleaning my room i actually took note of a few things to prove how much crap i have...

folded 37 shirts

hung 4 dresses

hung 9 skirts

hung 10 shirts

hung 8 cardigans

boxed 8 pairs of shoes

and hampered about 1,000 items of clothes to wash.

this will either prove that i have way too much time on my hands on a monday night, or that i am just that bored when i clean my room to count crap like that.

btw. loving ellie goulding right now. lights is a fantastic little diddy. in coming attractions i will be posting 4th of july pictures...exciting stuff from the asay clan!

one year older

2011-06-20T00:51:00.004-06:00

best.birthday.present.ever!!!

this is from my loving brother matt. the sweetest thing he has ever done for me!

muscle works, works

2011-06-17T23:13:00.002-06:00

so funny story. monday night my back went out. again. just after applying color to my client's hair. awesome. this resulted in me cussing in the back room while she processed. sitting on a garbage can while i washed her out and by the grace of the heavens above i cut and styled her hair. but wait it gets better.

then i drove to farmington with my two nieces grace and halle. crawled up my sisters stairs to sleep in my niece zoe's bed. then crawled down the stairs twice to tell the little girls to be quiet even though it was a sleepover. the pain was excruciating, but i was glad that i had some leftover muscle relaxers from the last time i threw my back out.

the next day i got to babysit 4 little girls. all day. with a bad back. i was one lucky auntie that my mom didn't have class until later in the day so she could come and help a bit while i directed from the couch. she even bought me a heating pad! {happy 26th birthday you old woman, you get a heating pad} then my nieces decided it would be a good idea to blow up the never ending air swimming pool. luckily just as i was about to die while lying in the grass and pumping up the pool uncle jake came over and saved the day. we won't mention that at one point i got stuck on the ground because i was in too much pain to stand up. then uncle matt came and kept the kids occupied in the pool and with water balloons while i remained on the couch. it was a really successful day if you ask me.

then i called in sick the next 3 days due to the intense, shooting pains that i was still having. you may be asking yourself why am i only blogging about this now...i mean i had 4 days off in a row. well you see it goes like this. i would wake up about 8:00 every morning assess my pain and determine whether i wanted to shower and pretend i was well enough to go to work or if i should text my manager and tell her i was in too much pain to work and take a muscle relaxer. despite my high tolerance for pain, i chose the latter...3 days in a row. i think my manager secretly hates me, but really i couldn't even walk! so i got myself signed up for a free trial of netflix and began where my season two dvd's of bones left off and was glued to my laptop.

i only showered and washed my hair today because i left my apartment for the first time to go to muscle works in highland. muscle works is no heaven. she worked me so freaking hard that all i could do was laugh! i seriously have never been worked like that! but the amazing thing is...i felt a MILLION times better than i did before! natalie is amazing and i am so excited for my appointment on tuesday! that is only a little sarcastic. when i went to the bathroom for the first time and didn't feel any back pain from sitting...i felt like crying i was so happy! the only bad side is that i now feel like my i am bruised all along my sides and butt. so worth it. that wasn't sarcastic.

it's my birthday on sunday. just thought you should know.

crooked lines

2011-06-06T21:50:00.002-06:00

i feel like i have been moving in slow motion and everything around me is going super fast. and the funny thing is that nothing or no one has bumped into me or told me to speed up. so i am thinking that i may just keep moving slow simply because it is easier. does this make me crazy yet.

i was facebook chatting with a friend tonight and i think that every other response i gave was 'whatever'. like i am actually that indifferent about his life. i think it only slightly bugged him, until he just logged off without saying goodbye, then i knew it bugged him. oh well. he will probably text me soon, so who really won?

i spent the weekend at my mom's house. usually i would think that there is a lot wrong with that sentence, but this time it was a self induced mini homecoming. we shared a bed and did crossword puzzles until we were silly. we ate delicious pasta salad, fudgey brownies with vanilla ice cream and cookie dough. i slept in until my eyes would not remain shut any longer. i skipped the whole shower scene all day saturday and didn't even bother with make up or my eyelashes. i sat on her porch with my crossword and got some sun on sunday. and me and my brothers even lost my dad for about 20 minutes...he just wandered off. other than that it was a very quiet weekend. a much needed quiet weekend. toni is really fun to hang out with. it just took me like 26 years to figure that out.

luna luna luna

2011-05-30T22:07:00.005-06:00

a few weeks ago i went to farmington to watch kate and nate's little girls while kate worked and nate studied his brains out for pharmacy school finals. it was so much fun.

zoe did my hair

we had a silly photoshoot so she would stop crying

i didn't know i could look like a mole rat before...

how could you not love millie's little face?

i loved being able to spend some quality time with these little munchkins! they are so sweet and quite the handful. i am so grateful to be their aunt and watch them grow! thanks kate and nate for letting me play with your little kiddos. i absolutely love them!

we turn it up

2011-05-30T21:58:00.003-06:00

guess what? i have some pictures.

about a month ago i went to park city with my mom and sisters for my sister katie's 30th birthday. we met at the montage resort in pc and went to dinner at the restaurant at the hotel and surprised kate with a night's stay in a sweet room. she was so surprised and even cried...mission accomplished! i only got a few pictures and am waiting for kate to send me the pictures from her camera which will take her approximately a year, so here you are.

the beautiful birthday girl

the awesome chocolates they gave her

blowing out the candles

emme, kate, mom, char and me...sorry your eyes are closed mom!

the next day we woke up, had a mediocre breakfast and hit the outlets for a few hours! it was such a fun trip and i can't wait for our next 'girls trip'.

don't tell me

2011-05-22T22:25:00.002-06:00

i just realized that i have already hit my 200th post!!!! that is cool.

i realized something else tonight. i am sick of people telling me...'oh so and so asked how you were doing the other day'....if so and so really wants to know how i am they can ask me themselves!!! not that i don't want people asking about me, but if they are my friend and have my number they can call, text or email to ask ME how I am doing. not asking other people.

and another thing...i like you. so don't come sit next to me when i deliberately sit at another table to stay away from you and the girl that you are dating! sometimes there is a method to my madness!

sorry for the ranting, but well this is my blog and i can say what i want. thanks for loving me still!

deadbeat blogger

2011-05-17T21:49:00.004-06:00

so what? i am a crappy blogger as of late. i don't care.

so i know you are all on the edge of your seat waiting to hear what has transpired in my life since i last updated you on my blase life. quick side note...i really like the word blase and shall try to find ways to use it more. let me just tell you some of the highlights.

okay so first, i bought this...

okay so not this exact one, but one very similar to it. it has been raining a lot so i can't take 'i just bought a new car' pictures quite yet. it is a 2004 saturn vue and i am in love. it is black and very sexy. i feel like an adult with a grown up car. but not like a mom. i just want to clarify that this is not a mom car. and the funniest thing about buying this car is that before i decided upon this make and model i had never seen them anywhere...ever! and now that i have it i see one every fetching day. it is crazy.

i have been doing a bootcamp with my sister and some of her friends for the last 2.5 weeks. don't worry about it...it is at 5:45 in the freaking morning! yeah i said 5:45 AM! that means that every monday, wednesday and friday i have been waking up at 5:21 am to make it to cedar hills by a quarter to 6. what? i am so exhausted all the time and of course i am blogging at 10:05 when i should be sleeping to wake up on time tomorrow. huh. oh well.

i think i am old. and i think i need a 5 year plan. is 26 too late to start thinking about a 5 year plan. well good cause i am still 25 for another month. both my roommates are dating someone and one of my last single besties is dating someone and this has made me think...what if all of my remaining really close girlfriends get married? where will i live? i know what you are all thinking...it's trippy how i can always bring it back to me. but hello...it is all about me...i am single. in reality i am happy for my friends i honestly am. they just better plan it so that i don't lose them all at the same time or i might be living on the street. i'm just saying.

and this is so classic aly. today i drove all the way down to the dmv in provo to get my license plates finally. i head down there in the rain. i park at the dmv. i reach into my glove box and retrieve all my important papers. i check my folded post.it.note that was stuffed in my day planner to go over my list of items i need. proof of insurance...check. emissions within the last 60 days...check. driver's license...check. title...nope. it was in my room on my floor under the envelope it had come it. really? i drove all the way down here in my behemoth gas guzzler only to have to return home and not have enough time to turn around and wait at the dmv before they close. cool! so i guess thursday morning will have to be the time cause they are closed on friday. whatever.

i have more to tell you but it is bed time and i haven't uploaded pictures yet. so stay tuned!

really 2 am?

2011-04-16T02:21:00.004-06:00

so i am so happy that i got to see jane eyre twice this week. not just once ladies and gentleman...twice! it was pure heaven the second time around. i bawled even more and my mom had to check on me a few times! i am so happy with my decision to go again. it made my week so much more amazing than it already was with my two days off work! anyway, if you haven't seen it you totally should. it is playing at the broadway theatre in salt lake city and is amazing. the end.

and since i haven't posted a self portrait lately here is one for your viewing pleasure. this is my i just cried like a baby, ate a piece of pizza, 2 pieces of crazy bread and oreos, and it's 2 am face. don't judge too harshly!

night night!

are we there yet

2011-04-11T23:38:00.007-06:00

i realized today that one year ago i was on a cruise. and more specifically i think at this moment one year ago i was making out with some guy on a cruise ship somewhere between san diego and cabo san lucas mexico. is that too much information? i think i have a problem with my social filter lately. anyway...i am not on a cruise headed for cabo. that is a really sad realization.

today i got to see another employee have a mini freak out because of a client...the best part is it wasn't me having a mini freak out for once. but that is what you get when you are so busy that you don't have time to think.

speaking of not having time to think...apparently i wasn't thinking this morning when i got dressed. today after working non stop for about 5 hours i finally got to go to the bathroom, only to find that i had put my underwear on inside out. is this too much information again cause i feel like it's not. is this why i only have like 4 friends? anyway i fixed the problem and then was really concerned for my well being.

just to make us all sad...i will share some cruise pics again.

turns out this is the only good cruise picture that i have on this laptop...i got a new laptop a while back, i can't believe i never told you! anyway this is me and camille. which works out pretty perfect cause i kind of really miss her. so holla mille!

little brown dress

2011-04-10T00:43:00.004-06:00

good news. my hair finally fits into a ponytail. we will see if i start utilizing this newly acquired style.

in case i have failed to mention...i am speaking in church tomorrow. well technically today, but whatevs. i haven't spoken in church for a really long time. remember this outfit? yeah i do too. i will have to post a picture after tomorrow so you can see what i looked like. i am not very excited to speak. in fact i am rather nervous and feel like i may have to call in sick to church tomorrow.

i feel rather melancholy tonight. not the noun form but the adjective form. my mother would be so proud of me. not because of the whole melancholy thing, but for knowing words like verb and adjective. the better news is that i actually know what noun and adjective mean.

it snowed today and it made me want to stay in bed all day long. instead i drove to a beauty supply store only to find out they don't carry the flat iron i was seeking. so i drove to another beauty supply store only to find they raised the price of the blasted flat iron i was seeking. all the while i have holes in my boots and due to the sleet that was falling my feet were soaking and i was forced to go to work with wet socks. which we all know is a huge pet peeve for me and i almost threw up.

it's the weekend baby!

2011-04-09T01:22:00.004-06:00

i just checked my hotmail junk mail. 212 emails. my 2 favorite were 'asian singles' and 'veteran loans'. i didn't know that never serving our country in any form of militia made you eligible for a veteran loan! score 1 point for me. and obvs asay is a very asian last name and means i need emails full of asian singles. score 2 points for me now.

i just tried to text bff to my roommate and instead buffalo took it's place before i couldn't fix it before sending it. so basically i just called my roommate a buffalo. score -1 for me.

my secret got out. josh told trent my secret and now i look like a freak i am sure. trent tried to act all cool about it, but i know underneath his frontin' he is thinking i am a weirdo! score -1 for me. this is why you should never hang out with members of the opposite sex after a certain hour when your brain shuts off. those hours are reserved for blogging and trips to wal.mart.

tonight me and my roomies decided that we hate everyone and wanted to stay home instead. we ordered pizza via papa johns...it helps that we have their number memorized. and we made our very first pizza.cookie. score like 100 for us all! it was awesome! especially because our delivery guy thought that the $8 we handed him was all his tip, but it was really the remaining $4.27 balance and then a $3.73 tip. sorry delivery man. the pizza.cookie was a success thanks to the roll of tollhouse cookie dough and dryer's ice cream i picked up at the store. next time we will definitely make the cookie from scratch...and with oatmeal. yummo!

score:

me: 100

everyone else: 0...well cruel world looks like i win this round!

i forgot something

2011-04-05T01:08:00.000-06:00

after the epic game of corners on saturday night, jenn and i made our weekly visit to wal.mart. this time we had josh and trent in tow. it was a glorious visit. trent threatened me that if i ever wore jeggings he would probably kill me while perusing the produce section. we planned an easter hunt on easter since josh and i will be familyless on easter. we found out that wal.mart needs to stock up on peanut butter m&m's. jenn fulfilled my dream of swimming in the string cheese bin. both josh and trent responded when i yelled their names from a few aisles away...they are troopers. {i have learned that you find out who your true friends are when they go to wal.mart with you and still want to talk to you after.} and we discovered that i look like i am 32. really? here we go.

we were acting a little out of control as is the norm with jenn and i. the guy checking us out looked like this...

i am not even lying! trent and i decided that he was in his 40's and probably still lived with his parents. jenn and josh discovered that at one point in his life he was gaining 5 pounds a month. awesome! so anyway, while we were acting out of control he asked us how old we were. josh told him to guess. cool right? well let me finish. he points to josh...28. {correct} he points to jenn...about 26. {dead on} points to me...32. {so wrong that i may or may not have cried} points to trent...28. {incorrect again...but let's not talk about how old trent is, he is a little sensitive about his next birthday this week} REALLY!!!????? 32????? he then went on to say that it was my hair and make.up. i wanted to front punt him!

please tell me i don't look 32!

you be nice to your mommy!

2011-04-05T00:40:00.002-06:00

yesterday i had every intention of taking epic photos of my trip north to farmington to visit my family. i even found my camera and put it in my purse with every intention of documenting my journey to my hometown to soak in the final session of the lds general conference with my family. do you want to know what happened instead? i fell asleep the last hour of the session only to be awoken by my mom saying...'aly wake up the prophet is going to speak.' in an all to sweet tone. it reminded me of my bratty teenage years when she would yell throughout the house for us to listen to the prophet when he came on. oh toni. so instead of pictures you will get my storytelling.

what you missed...

*two spit takes on my part during dinner. first with throwback mountain dew all over my sister katie's conference notes and my dinner plate. and the second time it was water straight into my cup. hilarious!

*grasshopper pie goodness galore! i love this stuff and i think if it were socially acceptable i would eat an entire pan of it myself.

*the whole crew watching america's funniest home videos. classic asay fun!

*watching jim gaffigan. so funny! even toni laughed.

*my niece millie breaking down into tears and lack of breathing every time anyone looked at her, talked to her or even talked about her. she is such a precious child, but ultra sensitive!

*running into my brother in law at the gas station whilst purchasing gas that i forgot to get saturday night and whilst he was headed into the drive through to purchase a soda. we made a pact to not tell anyone...oops. good thing my family never reads my blog. thanks kids!

*leaving my notebook with my conference notes...crap.

all in all a successful trip in the great land of farmington.

as a side note...or notes. i think i have a brain tumor. i have solid and concrete evidence that may or may not back this up. i think i have a cracked rib from an epic game of corners on saturday night. i thought i was going to a} throw up or b} die. what i did get was a very hoarse throat and sounded sick. and i think that i do in fact have a blood clot. i am basically a walking time bomb ladies and gentleman.

pictionary

2011-03-31T23:52:00.005-06:00

here are some photos from my trip to wal.mart i told you about.

my new stocking cap

where's jenn?

oh! there she is!

and a picture of me and grace on her 10th birthday.

you grow

2011-03-31T23:36:00.004-06:00

do you know what really bugged me today? i will tell you.

indie kids who try to convince you that they are in fact indie. go back to your small town in utah and pretend to be cool there. it might work. when you come to provo you get stuck in a sea of other indie kids trying to prove to each other that they are in fact indie kids. it must get exhausting. i am mean i know. but really it bugs me when everyone says that they are being an 'individual' when in actuality they are just like everyone else in their quest for individuality. maybe it is just a phase.

i just thought you should also know that as i am typing to all of you, i am sitting on my bed with about a gallon of aveda's beautifying oil on my head and a shower cap. also i just cracked open my 72nd bag of cadbury mini eggs.

happy friday tomorrow everyone!

things that make me gag...

2011-03-30T01:12:00.002-06:00

the smell of fish

the smell of wet dog

men in spandex

smelly feet

dandruff...the legit kind

greasy hair

nasty green crud on anything

snotty noses...especially on little kids

dog slobber

protein shakes

shrimp

horseradish

moldy vegetables that get all soggy...ugh

this list

stepping in gum/dog poo/water when wearing socks

feeling gum under a table

kids picking their noses

the white stuff on the sides of some peoples mouths

legit b.o...eww

okay just thought that you all should know that.

okay buh bye!

no thanks...i'm off 'the men'

2011-03-27T23:09:00.003-06:00

yep. as of last night i am off 'the men'.

what exactly does this mean you may be asking yourself. well it means that i am now going to avoid men like the plague and see what happens. i am not bitter. i am not upset. i am not hurt. but that is not to say that i haven't felt any or all of those emotions at one point or another. right now i just need to focus on aly. which i do realize is sort of a ridiculous thing to say because when you are single you are the only person that you really have to think about anyway. oh well.

i hung out with my sisters 3 younger girls today and can i just say i am in love. they are the most adorable little things in the world. more specifically the twins. when i got to my sister's house i grabbed the twins and as we were walking down the stairs jane grabbed my hair and said...i like yours hair aldy...they can't quite say aly. and sadie said...yours hair pretty. they are so precious. soon after i was about to change jane's diaper and before lying down she said...i like your dress, it's so cute. really? i mean come on...how more precious does it get than that? i LOVE them. they went to disneyland barely forming sentences and then they come back and can carry on full sentences...awesome! poor halle was sick and laid on the couch pretty much the whole time. we offered her a cookie and she replied with...no thanks, i don't think a cookie would be a good idea if i am feeling sick. so responsible at 7. LOVE them all. grace didn't want me to leave tonight...she begged and demanded to know when i would be coming back. i love being the favorite aunt!

this just in...

2011-03-27T01:17:00.002-06:00

due to recent contact with a certain individual, i have decided to deactivate my facebook account for some time. the span of 4 weeks to be exact. i know that a lot of you won't care, but for me this is a big deal! i am afraid that people will forget about me and no longer seek to find out about my current happenings and status updates via facebook! i know that this is silly and totally ridiculous, but it is an instinct to think that the world revolves around me and that everyone cares so much about what i do on a daily basis. alas the harsh reality is this...

people don't think about you nearly as much as you think they do.

thanks seth jenks. now keep in mind that i have never been one to really care what people think about me. most girls will spend hours getting dressed to impress one certain boy, or to prove something to other girls that either a> intimidate them or b> drive them crazy with jealousy...me i dress for me. i have a lot to prove to myself. i am the girl with the fluorescent red hair who wears as many colors as she can when she is not working in all black. i am the girl who will wear half of a stocking on her head, looking like a special ed candidate throughout the remainder of her weekly wal.mart trip. i am the girl who asks what to wear to a soccer game. i am the girl who also gets lost at said soccer game and climbs over chairs to find her way back. i am the girl who can captivate an entire table with any one of my loud and crazy tales. i am the girl who will release a short burst of laughter almost as soon as the benediction is complete in sacrament meeting. that is me. all those things a more make up aly and by golly if you don't like it, you can keep on moving.

but what if they forget me?

fyi

2011-03-22T23:55:00.000-06:00

i did everything on my to do list except clean my room. congratulate me.

busy + monday = bleh

2011-03-22T00:57:00.002-06:00

tomorrow is my day off and i don't even have to set my alarm for anything! here is my schedule for tomorrow.

wake up

work out

go tanning

go to the grocery store

clean my room

shower

make gyoza

go to gourmet girls

here is what will probably really happen tomorrow...

wake up

go tanning

go to grocery store

make gyoza

shower

go to gourmet girls

notice that the really productive things will become omitted. pray that i will get some sort of motivation to be productive. or pray that my gyoza turn out okay. which ever tickles your fancy.

tonight i found out that a member of the opposite sex holds a very profound secret about me and he actually remembered it. i think i am screwed if i upset him.

bones is a fantastic television program and i am very happy with my purchase of season one and two on dvd.

my roommate and i introduced her love interest to wal.mart trips with the two of us. pictures to come when i have the motivation to upload them. let's just say that the fact that he wanted to see us the next day was a huge relief on our part. you really learn who your friends are when you have half of a nylon sock on your head. thanks sir.

happy green day

2011-03-17T23:15:00.004-06:00

okay surprise, surprise i have more things to say because well i really like to hear myself talk. but i guess this would be considered writing. which if you were to also say that i like to read what i write you would be making a correct statement.

the other night when i came home to a sea of men...and by sea of men i mean 5...we were talking and laughing because let's face it we are girls and laugh at things that sea of men say. right? anyway we were talking and one of the men said that he wished he had a video camera to record the things we did in a day. and yes, as i am typing this now i am realizing how creepy that may actually sound if taken out of context. and i am sure some of you will take this out of context...pervs. i got so excited and i believe i said something to the effect of 'you have no idea how much i wish i had my own realitytv show!' they laughed because they must have thought i was joking, but i was dead serious. i think i would make for some great tv. it's why i have a playlist on my ipod titled...my life: the soundtrack. not real original i know, but it is my show so change channels.

going back to my perm today. her name was yoshie. so naturally as i was using the restroom after said perm i got to thinking while washing my hands. i started thinking about the only famous yoshie i know.

yes the lovable and trusty green dinosaur/mode of transportation we all fell in love with on mario! i remember the day that my brother told me that yoshi {notice the spelling difference...google it} was in fact a girl! it rocked my little gamer world. ha ha. i just referred to myself as a gamer. i'm awesome, and lying. anyways i just googled it and he is in fact a guy. matt you were wrong...how you made it onto 'where in time is carmen sandiego' is beyond me. moving on, remember how if you made yoshi eat enough of those fruit things he would poop out stuff for you. i swear he pooped out extra lives once...am i mistaken on that? anyway the point is i had to restrain from asking my client if yoshie is a common female name in japan. i guess i could google that myself but if you know me you would know that i am really lazy by nature. there's another story there trust me.

sidenote: well i guess this is a footnote. i didn't realize the picture of yoshi would look ginormous in my post...sorry.

it's not my fault

2011-03-17T21:28:00.002-06:00

dear blog,

remember today when i did a perm on yoshie? yeah i do too!

okay thanks bye.

love aly

ps...this is for melissa. love you girl!

new york, new york

2011-03-08T16:39:00.005-07:00

sometimes in life really funny things happen. sometimes they are so funny that you laugh hysterically until you and your roommates are rolling on the ground with tears in your eyes. tears of frustration and laughter. last night was one of those times where i laughed till i cried and realized yet again that i have the best roommates ever!

once upon a time my roommate jenn and i would do a puzzle every sunday with one certain guy and also the pretend love of my life shane parry. {in our fantasy world we are engaged to be wed and use pet names like honey and sweetheart} well this one certain guy got jenn this amazing puzzle of the new york city skyline pre 9/11. it is awesome to say the least and it glows in the dark! it is 3 feet wide and it was quite a challenge to put together. over the course of a week the puzzle sat on our dining room table until it was completed. then it sat there for another week because well we couldn't quite take it apart because the thing was so blasted hard to complete! luckily jenn had a puzzle saver and it was transported safely to the ledge at the top of our stairs. and there it sat for another 2 weeks. until last night.

we were having our regular pow.wow at the top of the stairs and about to pray together. we were discussing whose turn it was to pray when i pointed out that it went in order of age and since jenn was older than me it was her turn to pray. if you know me you know that i am sassy and well let's face it a brat. i admit that i said it in a sassy tone and provoked jenn to pick up my coat that was next to her and throw it at me. the only problem was that i was right next to the ledge that was housing the new york city skyline puzzle. all 750 pieces of it. the coat caught the edge of the puzzle and it toppled down the ledge and onto 5 different stairs.

we erupted in laughter, jenn ran to her room with jessie and i close behind. we assessed the damage and quickly realized that there was no saving the puzzle. it had run it's course and we had to really seen it glow in the dark. i took on the task of cleaning and counting all 750 pieces to ensure we didn't lose any. jessie went to bed. jenn went to bed and i remained on the stairs counting puzzle pieces. i got a system down and quickly set into my rhythm of counting. after a few minutes i counted 765. close enough i guess.

possibility

2011-03-05T20:52:00.002-07:00

tonight when i was at wal.mart i got into my car and was about to turn on my lights when i noticed there was a couple in the van in front of me full on making out. it was disgusting! really the wal.mart parking lot people? it was like a car accident...i couldn't look away i was so intrigued by their choice of location for their love fest. all i can say is, thanks wal.mart, you never cease to amaze and entertain me.

fake it till you make it

2011-02-27T23:43:00.003-07:00

hobbies.

what hobbies do i have?

i used to think that i had a lot and after today i am starting to second guess myself on that. how is it that we are expected to find someone who shares the same hobbies as us, and then spend the rest of our lives with them? i mean my main hobbies consist of things that one does in complete solitude...knitting, reading and writing. now i do have other hobbies like shopping, doing hair, running {when i feel like it}, and make up. and as it was pointed out to me tonight, i don't want to be with a guy who enjoys those things because they more than likely are batting for the other team. if you know what i mean. then i also found out that i will never get married because i don't like sports. whatever. my sister who has been happily married for 12 years did reassure me that i just had to pretend to like sports and occasionally watch a football game here and there. thanks for the reassurance char.

and bird boy made an appearance today in my life. he invited me over to enjoy some pickles that he made last year. i had to decline in the end...but not before i was asked by others if i loved him and if i was doing that whole thing again, i think they were referring to my brief stint in liking him and doing whatever it was that we were doing last summer. good times.

home alone

2011-02-27T00:44:00.003-07:00

so we all remember that one time that my roommates took a road trip without me because i chose a profession that mandates i sign over my soul and every saturday for the rest of my life? oh wait...that was just this weekend. sorry to confuse you.

yes my two wonderful roommates decided on an impromptu road trip to clear their minds and to 'get away' for a while. granted they just went to manti. but the fact is this. i need to clear my mind and 'get away' for a while too. why couldn't they have planned this over the first weekend in april when i will actually have a saturday off because i requested it so that i don't have another panic attack.

yeah i had a panic attack a few weeks ago, it was awesome! it mostly consisted of hot flashes, an elephant sitting on my chest, a dreadful fear that i was in fact crazy and not being able to breath very well. this was brought on by the news of my ward splitting and realizing that my chances on finding 'the one' in my ward were cut in half...from 20 down to 10. it was also brought on by the fact that all i have done lately is work everyday, come home and sleep. only to wake up and work all over again. it's a depressing life and a very fearful life as well. who can rest when there is a chance that you could have a panic attack at any moment. *i hope that you all realize that i am in fact not crazy and i am totally OVER exaggerating my panic attack. it was mild and i was calm within minutes. but i did try to convince my roommate that it was a blood clot instead. i am funny like that.*

i hope that you realize that i am only kidding with the whole 'finding the one' crap. i am SO not into the handful of boys in my ward. sitting next to 'bird boy' last week was enough for me. although i may bring candy again to bribe people to sit with me while my roommates are gone. the roomies weren't too keen on the idea of me skipping out on church due to lack of their presence. it wasn't a good enough excuse i guess. so tomorrow will be a flashback to 1 year and 3 months ago when i came to the vast land of pleasnt grove and ventured {for approximately 20 minutes} to a new ward house about 5 minutes away all by my lonesome and for the first time in 4.5 years i was the new girl in a sea of weekly new girls.

so wish me luck and if there is anyone reading this before 11:15 am, and if you also feel inclined to make me breakfast before i head off visiting teaching, that would be much appreciated. thanks y'all.

two more things...1: last night i had a dream that i made out with jo from teen mom 2, kailyn's ex and baby daddy. it was random, but of all the baby daddies he is my favorite, so that may be why. maybe i shouldn't admit to watching that.
2: if you need something fun to look at, google panic attack images. hilarious. my favorite was the yawning cat. classic peg.

double whammy

2011-02-23T18:56:00.002-07:00

remember the weekend of jenn a few weeks back?  here are some bathroom pics from jason's deli...we are just white trash like that.
  
nothing is better than trashy mirror pics!  it was a glorious night and it all started with these pictures.

i think i failed to mention that my mouth is killing me right now.  i got a cavity filled yesterday and today the pain is making me want to punch my dentist in the mouth to make him hurt just as bad as i do.  and the best part is knowing that i paid for him to do this to me!  call me a sucker for healthy teeth. 

yesterday i also got a massage at work.  it was heaven.  yes heaven here on earth in the form of two strong hands.  i am really excited that i have another one lined up for next wednesday.  excessive?  no.  necessary?  yes!  i found out that my pectoral muscles can get tight from working with my arms out in front of me all day.  who knew?  thanks laramie for that fun fact.

one more thing..

2011-02-23T00:26:00.002-07:00

i may or may not have hidden 7 bags of these in my room.

yep that is correct. this may be why i had a cavity filled today. don't worry i will share if you ask nicely!

cavities suck

2011-02-22T22:09:00.002-07:00

the other night i went out with my sisters kate and char.  we met at fashion place mall.  we shopped at nordstrom for b.day presents for my niece who will be turning 10 next week.  we waited at cheesecake factory for ages.  i scoffed at horrible fashion faux pauxs...ladies, you only tuck your jeans into boots if they are skinny jeans, not boot cut!...kate and char scoffed at me.  the chicken and biscuits i ordered were delish!  our decision to each order our own slice of cheesecake and share was probably the best decision we have ever made.  too bad emme thinks that going to logan to hang out with morgan is more important than quality family time...

which brings me to my next point.  i need to take more pictures of little outings like this.  it was brought to my attention not too long ago that some people only look at blogs if there are pictures to look at as well.  i hereby will vow to take more pictures for your viewing pleasure.  you're welcome.

the weekend of jenn

2011-01-29T00:33:00.002-07:00

it is my roommates birthday on monday and consequently this has been dubbed the weekend of jenn.  to kick off the festivities we all headed to jason's deli for a little dinner and after failed attempts to bowl we decided upon a movie.  the social network to be exact.

interesting movie.

i don't know whether i should deactivate my facebook account or read the book from which the movie was conceptualized i guess you could say.  and would you look at that i spelled conceptualized correctly, score one for me.

as i was watching the movie that i really now wish that i would have walked out on, i was still wondering if anywhere in mark zuckerberg's mind did he think that businesses would have to block his website from their offices to ensure that employees were in fact working.  or that housewives would spend hours on end playing mindless games in their pajamas.  or the facebook would bring about a 25 year old girl staying up well past midnight to 'chat' with some guy that she has no future with and is well aware that there is no future.  i would contend that he had no idea. 

no idea.

here comes the bride

2011-01-19T23:32:00.002-07:00

on january 14th my dear childhood friend becca got married to her sweetheart josh!  it was such a fun time for all of us girls that grew up in farmington to get together and catch up with each other.  i love these girls and always will.  it is amazing and rather perplexing that after all the hell we put each other through while growing up that we can still call one another friend.  they are beautiful and amazing girls and i am so proud of the people that they have become.  i accidently deleted the final group picture we got with the bride at her reception...it was pretty and if any of you beautiful girls have it i would love a copy!  :)

jessie ellen, staci jane and jen waiting for the newly wedded couple

the newlyweds...becca = beautiful!

becca's dress was beautiful!

i can't get enough of becca's expression...she looks so elated!

LOVED her decor

jess and me

staci and her devilishly handsome boy rocco

and we're back

2011-01-13T00:50:00.004-07:00

yes ladies and gentleman i am back online. after a 7 month absence our internet was finally restored to our humble townhouse! can you believe that it took 7 months to get a technician to our house so they could solve the problem in just 10 minutes. almost like when i called farmers insurance the other day and waited to talk to a representative for a total of 1 hour only to be on the phone with a representative for approximately 2 minutes. priceless! but nonetheless now i will have more time to update this little blog and this will encourage me to take more pictures so certain people will feel more inclined to read all my ramblings while looking at me!

tonight i was perusing my pictures and i stumbled upon this gem...

remember when i was tan and on a boat in the middle of the mexican ocean...i don't know what body of water is near cabo san lucas so sue me...but the point is, i was tan and it was so bloody hot that i felt like i was melting. literally melting. and it is freezing right now as i sit on my couch.

it's so funny how this is me in the picture, but i feel like it was a completely different person. it's great that we get to reinvent ourselves even if it is just within 8 or 9 months. but i will tell you that the aly i am now got a whopping $50 tip yesterday for a $20 dollar haircut. and he told me my hair was sexy. i told him that he could come back to me anytime he wanted.

i hope that this year takes me some place warm where i can get tan and melt.

one of my dearest friends of all time is getting married on friday. becca i am so excited for you and can't wait to see you all brided up. i know i already told you that, but i just really like to use the word brided. even though i am almost certain it is not a word.

aren't ya'll glad i am back?

wish you were here

2010-11-23T00:14:00.003-07:00

alas i am at my sister's house again and finally able to post. here is a glorious picture of my new...and by new i mean a month and a half...hair color for those of you still wondering.

yep, i went back to red...just like in beauty school. oddly enough even though i had the black for 3 + years i feel more like myself with the red.

here is a picture of my halloween costume for those of you wondering.
this is me and my bff roomie jenn on our way to a rocking halloween party. jenn was a greek goddess and yes that is my hair in an afro mohawk...i never got a side view picture, but trust me, using half a can of aveda's control force in 24 hours can get your hair to do pretty much anything!

i am in denial about the fact that thanksgiving is already upon us. my mom is deserting us this year and going to visit her dad in arkansas! i don't really know what i am supposed to do with that. oh well, we will still play mario party true to tradition. we will still get banana cream pie true to tradition. and we may or may not spend the day with our neighbors. it has all the key ingredients of being the best thanksgiving yet!

i found yet another reason to love facebook. it's funny/slash/interesting that seeing the words 'in a relationship' can be the foulest thing in this world! seeing 'in a relationship' while facebook stalking puts a bit of a damper on your day. seeing when someone is 'in a relationship' with some other girl, when you just made out with the guy...yep that's the best part definitely. and just to clarify, this has nothing to do with actual events in my life. this is all very hypothetical. yes. hypothetical.

the best news is that my bff rachael married her new bff jared this past weekend in sunny san diego, california! i was unable to attend due to some financial inflexibility, but i was definitely there in heart, mind and spirit. i am so happy for her and can't wait to see the new mrs. bangerter.

be serious please!

2010-11-12T09:28:00.002-07:00

if you have children, i will apologize in advance if what i have to say will offend you. this is how i feel as a professional and how many others of my kind feel as well...with that said let me tell you about my day the other day.

it was a slow day at the salon and i was addressing invitations for our v.i.p event coming up in december, when i decided to check my books. i noticed that there was a color on my books at 12:00. well it was 12:26 so it was safe to say that they weren't coming to their appointment. i went up to the front desk just to check if they really didn't come and heard them just check in my client. that was when i noticed the frazzled mom with her two kids and their happy meals. i double checked that the appoinment was in fact for a color and then called her name to have her and her small brood come back to my chair. now let's just pause and reassess the situation...i had an hour to do the complete weave and have it process within that hour before her haircut, she brought her two kids to an appointment that most should plan at least two-three hours for, she brought happy meals into a salon, she was half an hour late and finally she didn't really explain to the front desk what she wanted to have done and they underscheduled me. so needless to say my patience and my niceness were wearing thin. i mixed up her color, weaved her hair in record time and luckily one of the assistants that day helped entertain the kids. during her processing time i left her with her kids to keep me sane. when i brought her back to wash her hair she sat her kids on the chair with her iphone playing some sort of kids show and never looked back. while i was rinsing out her shampoo i noticed her daughter was laying on the chair with her little head sticking off the side and her son spinning the chair really fast with her hear barely missing the wall corner! i turned the water off and started to head towards the chair just as the assistant grabbed the chair to make it stop. the mom was so not apologetic and yelled through the salon for them to sit down and not spin the chair. i finished washing her and we started the haircut. the kids had started spinning each other again and squealing. i finally couldn't take it anymore and locked the chair so it couldn't spin anymore. then the mom apologizes. a little late for that i think. then somehow the little girl figures out how to unlock the chair. seriously? i speed through the haircut and blow dry her hair and send her on her way.

i needed to destress so i headed to the food court for a much needed diet coke and came back to check if she bought any product and to see what kind of tip she left/babysitting money for the assistant. $5. yep, $5 for a $120 ticket. okay have people just lost their common sense? when you go to a salon to get a service done, i thought it was expected that you leave at LEAST a 10% tip. much like when you go out to eat! if you can not leave at least that much go to another salon that is cheaper! this may sound like i am a huge brat, but really i worked my tail off and we babysat your kids...10% is not too much to ask! also, if you have kids...you make arrangements for them to be with someone else while you are getting your hair done! kids should not be in a salon UNLESS they are getting their haircut. in my years of doing hair i have never seen a child sit still longer than 20 minutes, so i think it is out of the question that you expect them to sit still for 2 hours while getting your hair colored. have parents just lost control of their kids! i noticed this when i was working retail as well. moms should be embarrassed by the way their kids act at times and so many don't even bat an eye to how their kids act. if my child were to be spinning around in a salon chair i would tell my stylist to forget the conditioner and rush over to the chair and make them stop! again you may think i am being a brat, but this is how i feel!

sorry i just had to rant about that...get it off my chest! so a note to all...don't bring your kids into a nice salon unless they are getting their haircut and please expect to leave at least 10% for your stylist. thanks!

pictures...finally

2010-10-22T00:31:00.008-06:00

now...as far as cruise pictures, i took about a million! so this is the best of the best. as well as this years trip to flaming gorge. enjoy...

ready to go!...heids, kristin, bolish and me.

first night at dinner on the cruise!...kristin, mille and me.

we were all fancied up!...me and kristin

i was a guidette for a night...me and mille

oh you know just chilling on a boat in mexico.

i freaking love bolish!

just chillin on the beach in MEXICO!!!! remember when i was tan... :(

i was so excited for sprite from a glass bottle. best tacos ever!

meet my dear friend collin...why we both look wasted is beyond me!

an elephant made out of a freaking towel!

emme and aly, flaming gorge 2010

to prove that i hike.

all ready to jump!

i really am not sure if i could love this beautiful little lady more!

just jumping off a cliff...no biggie!

it was pouring rain...we all snuggled under a tarp. precious is the word are looking for.

peace out flaming gorge...until next year.

once again...couldn't love her more.

i'm alive.

2010-10-22T00:01:00.003-06:00

remember when i used to blog a lot?  okay maybe you don't remember cause it has never happened in real life.  but i do remember when i was enthralled with the idea of blogging more.  it's the thought that counts...right?

i went bowling the other night.  it was epic!  i realized that as with most things in my life i have a very short attention span towards the game some might even call a sport.  i do really well the first 4 frames.  i care a lot and make sure that i have almost perfect form.  i lower my body towards the ground on my left leg and throw my right let to the left and follow through, often staying in this awkward and difficult pose until the flourescent ball makes contact with the center pin.  i talk to the ball as i pose to the left of the lane before taking three steps toward the line and release the ball just before my arm approaches the point of being raised forward in the air.  there is a definite science to bowling that i have mostly learned from wii bowling, but that is beside the point.  you woudl think that being excellent at wii bowling would ensure that you are just as good at real life bowling, or, that my routine for each turn of bowling would guarantee that i am near professional status.  well you would be very incorrect in both trains of thought.  now before i get too distracted i need to finish my original thought.  i have such a short attention span combined with a poor form for losing so that if i am behind after the first 4 frames, i subconsciously give up on the entire game.  i start throwing gutter balls or i will mess up on easy opportunities for spares.  i just can't seem to keep my head in the game.  and due to my stupid need to win i let it get to me and i curse or hurt my arm by trying to just throw the ball really hard.  mostly curse though.  sorry mom, but honesty is the best policy.  and the fact that i have to wait for people in between my own turns...don't even get me started.

the point, and i do have one, is this:  i have a shorter and shorter attention span the older i get.  if i am talking to someone and i have already gotten all that i need from them, i will try to be nice and ask other mundane questions and not even listen to the answer.  if you have fallen victim to this, i am sorry, it's not personal.  if i am writing a blog entry i will stop to do the most randoma and unneccasry things and then have to re-read what i have written only to add another line and the whole cycle starts over again!  i can't even start to explain a trip to the grocery store.  texting people back sometimes is tricky unless i do it right away.  i go through 'crushes' on guys so rapidly that most peole blink longer than these 'crushes' last.  the mere fact that i can even paint all 10 fingernails in one sitting is just shy of a miracle.

i am okay with this short attention span i have honed over the years.  do you know why i am okay with it?  because it is another intricate and complicated facet into who aly really is.  i like who i am.  i think i have done a pretty darn good job with myself in the past 25 years.  short attention span and all.

and just a little tip...if i text you back with just 'yep' or 'nope', i am mad at you and everything is not okay.  oh and i also use words like fantastic and glorious.  glad i could clear that up for you.

first of all...

2010-08-12T23:08:00.002-06:00

yes shade clothing is closing it's doors. just shy of the end of their 6th year of business. i have only been asked a million questions today about it and the answer is i know just as much as everybody else, so i am kind of useless if you want juicy details. just understand that it is a lot harder to conceive and own a business than you think. the good news is they hope to reopen soon and provide us all with our modest and adorable fashion staples.

anyway...it was brought to my attention that i have yet to blog about my cruise. shoot i have forgotten everything there is to remember about that week! good thing i have my journal and pictures to remind me. let's embark...ha ha...on this journey now shall we? this is mostly for you lindy!

day 1: woke up at 4:45, showered and was off to the airport with bolish, heidi and kristin. we flew to san diego and then stood in like a bajillion lines before we boarded the beautiful and spacious 'elation' cruise ship. and we were elated that is for sure. we snacked on disgusting burgers and pizza, buffet style. lounged around on the back of the boat waiting for the departure onto the open waters. went to dinner and met the other 2 guys that would be at our table fo the duration of the cruise. one was named...j...yeah j....and we became friends that night we can say.

day 2: woke up a little disoriented. bolish and i had a little trouble getting our footing that day as camille thought we were ridiculous. we laid out forever and by we i mean i laid out for like 6 solid hours and had the daunting task of saving about 8 very coveted lounge chairs while my friends went to hear some speaker...lame. we then got ready for our fancy night. now mind you we had nothing really to do so we spent literally about 2.5-3 hours getting ready just about every night. call us vain or call us heros...you decide. went to dinner, sat right next to j. he was hooked by the first night, but i just had to make sure. after dinner we gambled, and by we i mean i watched bolish waste everyone on the black jack table...go bolish! then i made the very smart and mature decision to wander off with j alone. i am so stupid! who goes off alone with some guy that you just met on a cruise ship of all places? i could have been the next natalie holloway...is that her name? but i was safe. he just wanted to kiss me. so not my cup of tea, but whatevs, i was on a cruise. we chilled for about 3 hours before rolling in to my cabin at 2 am and the many questions from bolish and camille.

day 3: we finally got to step foot in mexico! cabo san lucas to be exact. we traveled by glass bottom water boat taxi to a beautiful resort where i got to lay out to my little hearts desire. ate some delicious food and almost paid $50 for a bottled water! we went back to the boat, i did the unthinkable and took a nap! what? a nap on vacation...unheard of! spent the alotted time to get ready for dinner once again. went to dinner. and despite my huge and ridiculous despise of holding hands, j held mine under the table. blah, blah, blah. after dinner we all hung out for a bit before j and i went for another stroll. blah, blah, blah.

day 4: our second and final day in cabo! we went parasailing, and by be i mean everyone but me because i am a big ole scardy cat. but i did get a pretty killer tan line from my flip flops. everyone then snorkeled while i laid out and fought off the beach merchants trying to sell me some sterling silver trinkets. after our fill of beach and beautiful ocean we ventured into the heart of cabo to find some killer tacos! but let's first go back to the beauty of cabo. i was amazing! the water was unreal and the sand was perfect! i could really live on the beach. but it was so blasted hot! i was sweating within seconds of laying on my towel. don't worry i was safe and used a combo of sunblock and tanning lotion! i didn't burn once my whole trip, i am just that good at tanning. anyhow...we got back to boat and i slept! got ready and went to dinner. j was starting to feel sick so he was lame and went to bed and i magically found my friends. which brings me to another side note. cruises are awesome, but you don't have cell phones! so if you want to find someone, you just have to wander around forever trying to find them! so the fact that i was able to find them in under 10 minutes was nothing short of a miracle! they were playing games and i got to meet a new person named collin. we got ice cream and pizza and made breakfast plans.

day 5...the final day: slept through breakfast, sorry collin. turns out he slept in too and we all met up after the disembarking meeting and he invited me to lunch instead. we ate yummy food and talked. he is a very sweet person. find my friends and chill for a bit. go to lie down in my room for a bit. got to a magic show that was really uber lame. chill with j for a bit in his room. got some sushi, watched the jazz game {playoff season} and then went to dinner. again j went to bed early due to his oncoming sickness...lame. then we just do a whole lot of nothing. i think we were all done with life! being stuck on a boat all day really took it's toll on us. it was so cold and windy that day the my plans of just laying out were foiled and we were inside all freaking day! so by like midnight we were done. we all went and got one last ceremonial ice cream cone and went to bed.

day 6: we disembark the ship. shared a shuttle to the airport with j and say our final goodbyes.

fun. fun. fun.

my internet is being lame, so you just get the stories for now. pictures to come later...sorry!

so what

2010-06-29T21:52:00.005-06:00

so what if it has been over a month since i last posted.

so what if this isn't the freaking cruise post yet.

so what that i am so exhausted and blogging anyway.

so what if pandora is playing the kind of music that you would only hear at nordstrom instead of elliot smith.

so what that i should be in bed.

i am blogging anyway.

as of last wednesday night i have been at my sister's house watching her twins j and s who are on the brink of turning 2. it has been quite the adventure and all i have to say is thank goodness that my sister has a nanny who i could pass the kids off to everyday when i went to work! dealing with s whining all the time about every little thing and consoling j when the tiniest thing goes wrong and she screams bloody murder really is the best form of birth control that a girl could ask for. this afternoon the older girls g and h got home from idaho where they were staying with their grandparents. so now i have 4 kids to watch and care for. kill me now. my sister called from italy and informed me that they got me a really great present...it better be tall, dark and handsome. oh and it better only speak italian.

i have been uber busy lately. as of the last time i posted i switched jobs! i left my post as assistant manager of the shade clothing store in american fork and started assisting at a salon. yes imagine that, i am a cosmetologist who is finally working in a salon. after a 5.5 year absence i decided it was time to do the thing that i was trained for! i am loving it and learning a lot! i will be assisting for the next 2 weeks and then i will be slowly transitioned onto the floor as an actual stylist...well 'hair specialist' as remedez would have us called. and within the first 2 weeks of working there i finally changed my hair! go me. it is blue. not all of it. just a few pieces. hot is the word you are looking for. you're welcome.

okay mini pause. i was just sitting in the tv room and there was a gigantic fly buzzing around in a lamp shade. i went to go kill it and instead i noticed how it was not moving the closer i got. so i closed my hand really quickly and caught the fly! that is right i just caught a fly in my bare hand and it was even a really odd angle. i am really so proud/impressed with myself.

oh and the most important and sad thing to have happened as of late is...i turned 25. yes it is true. i am a quarter of a century! how did i spend my special day? i worked. got off early. went tanning. went shopping. got ready. my roommate threw me a party. i partied with a few special folks. ate a delicious and beautiful cake that bolish made. and then i had a lovely birthday dinner in f-town with my family on father's day. it was a glorious weekend and i definitely think that next year i will be back to celebrating my birth all the month of june. i don't know what really brought on this sudden change in only celebrating on my actual day. i was in mourning over my youth.

and not too far after my birthday i ate 5 hot dogs...bun and all at a bbq. after eating just one i just casually mentioned that i love hot dogs from the grill so much that i could probably eat 5. this foolish individual didn't believe me and didn't know that i am not one to back down from a challenge. so i ate 5 hot dogs in one sitting. to say that i felt sick afterwards was a major understatement. oh well, i sure showed him. and to impress this fellow even further i went out onto the field and showed off my wicked sprial skills with the massive football that was on hand. yeah i can still rock it...and we even swapped numbers. that ladies and gentleman is how it is done. ha.

end it, end it now

2010-05-13T21:56:00.004-06:00

still no cruise post yet...i am sure you are all on the edge of your seats waiting in anticipation.

i just found out today that my grandma jackson {my mom's mom} will be here for 6 days in june. just in time to kick off my birthday month festivities. that's right kids my birthday is coming up. i would be a little more excited, but when i start to get excited i remember that i will be turning 25 and then that fact rains on my parade. boo 25. i am only bugged because a swear on everything holy that i have a wrinkle next to my right eye. why me?

i went to dinner the other night for my friend camille's birthday. she was in town from blanding for a conference and we met at rumbi for a little din din and then had cake and a bonfire at our friend alissa's house. beautiful evening. my whole point is this. i like to paint my nails for special occasions. usually i paint them every saturday night so that i have a fresh coat for church {yes i realize how sad this statement sounds...church is, sad but true, a special occasion for me these days}. i paint them before i go on trips. i paint them when i have a date. and you best believe i paint them for dinner for one of my bff's birthday. anyway, due to the fact that i probably have the worst sense and use of time in the universe, i was late and only had time for one coat of my essie wicked...one of my favorite colors of all time. so after i had eaten i leaned over to alissa {who we so lovingly call bolish} and asked if it was socially acceptable for me to paint my nails at rumbi island grill. she said no, but gave me permission to do so anyway. i painted all 10 of my phalanges just as megan asked if we could smell nail polish. i owned up to it and we all had a laugh. i told bolish that people probably thought i was an idiot and would probably go home and blog about the stupid girl who was painting her nails in a restaurant...and i use the word restaurant lightly when speaking of rumbi island grill. to which, bolish replied...'oh aly, you're so cute. thinking that people would actually go home and blog about you.' i had never heard something so funny. thus why bolish and i are friends. so bolish, maybe no one went home and blogged about me, but i came home and blogged about you. you're welcome.

i also have a HUGE pet peeve that i have to vent about the wonderful world of working retail. i HATE when customers sneak into dressing rooms. really? do you not see the shiny metal sign that tells you to ask an attendant to get a room? and then why do you simply leave EVERTYHING you brought in with you on the floor? is it really that hard to hang a freaking shirt back on the hanger? grow up and learn how to hang up clothes, then come shop in my store.

anyway, my new favorite tune...you and i by the beloved ingrid michaelson. love. every. word.

if you get caught

2010-05-03T21:15:00.002-06:00

lately i have been in a funk...

...and by lately i mean ever since i got back from my cruise.

i can't blog about my cruise yet cause my hard drive is full and i can't upload pictures and what is the point in blogging about it if you can't see what/who i am talking about? answer...there is no point.

after the worst day of my life...aka the van driving through my store...it was non stop stress and frustration. mixed in there was also a little sadness and long moments of pondering my life. my store was closed for 2 days. the 2nd day was spent unpacking about 40 boxes of product, unbagging, hanging and arranging about 1200 pieces of merchandise. don't let my meager description fool you...it was hours of work. during all of this my manager kyle received a call that his nephew beck who had been in the hospital since the night before with pneumonia, wasn't going to make it. i sent kyle to the hospital and i started my week as what i referred to as a single parent. we successfully got the store looking decent and opened on friday! while we were rejoicing the re.opening of the store, the rippy family was saying their last goodbyes to sweet little beck. he passed away that evening. let me just tell you...beck is the sweetest boy in the whole world. his smile and laugh could make anyone smile and forget about their worries. i had the privilege of cutting his hair on multiple occasions. beck was a little delayed mentally and physically, but he had the most amazing spirit and within moments of meeting him you could tell he was a special child of god and has a much bigger purpose than what any of us could ever see. we were all saddened by his passing. to say that i had a few breakdowns is an understatement. i don't deal well with stress or death very well. the viewing was monday, the funeral on tuesday. the service was beautiful. very inspiring and the spirit was strong.
the rest of the week was a series of challenges both self inflicted and brought on by the evil forces of the retail world. needless to say, i was more than excited to see kyle today at work!

i feel like i have been hauling down a ginormous hill on a pair of roller skates...yes roller skates, the old school ones that come up high and are white with a rainbow stitched to the side, roller skates...and i see a brick wall in the distance but my brakes are gone cause they looked dorky and i took them off. i know that i am going to hit the wall it is just a matter of when you know? i don't know what will happen when i do hit it. it scares me just a little. scratch that...it scares the begeesus out of me. it's hard to swallow when i think about it and i get all flustered. like when you have a bad dream and you wake up and your face feels hot. only the brick wall isn't a dream and i am headed straight for it. i don't know how to avoid it. the worst part is i am the only one on this hill. everyone else is at the top watching me go first. i only went cause i am dumb like that. if you are still reading this...i am sorry to bore you. it is just one of the those nights when i feel like i wish i had my own t.v show...and more importantly a kick ass soundtrack to go along with it. if only mtv came to utah and not the hills of l.a.

right now i am listening to radiohead...aka my newest obsession...all i need. thanks.

what the what doesn't really cover this...

2010-04-21T01:21:00.002-06:00

oh boy...

yes i went on my cruise, yes i had fun and yes posts to come, but this is more exciting...

today work was crazy.  there were customers in the store all day.  we got a huge shipment and were putting it all away.  literally i can't think of a time when no one was in the store.  so at 4:30 the store is dead!  one customer.  my friend jessie and i had plans to grab a quick bite and she wanted me to get off early instead of at 5:00.  i left the store in the more than capable hands of tiffany and text laura to come in 15 minutes early so tiff wouldn't have to be alone that long.  we went to cafe rio.  we chatted with our friend staci and her baby rocco.  i told of my cruise adventures and we enjoyed ourselves.  until i finally heard my phone.  it is my sister char calling to tell me that a car drove into my store.  i freak out and i am pretty sure i was not making complete sentences...what are you talking about, is everyone okay, a car really drove through my store, was there customers in the store, is everyone okay, all the way to the dressing rooms,i am on my way, i have to go back to work.  i hang up on char, see the missed calls from tiffany call her back and am headed to the door realizing i drove with jessie, she is handing me her keys and i zoom to the store.  i run in the back door hoping that char's second hand information was exaggerated.  i am shaking, my heart is racing, i am freaking out at the possibilities of what has happened, basically sick to my stomach.  i open that back door and see a white minivan 10 feet away from me.  i run through glass and product to my 2 girls.  laura cries as i embrace her and tiffany.  t had just gotten there and already had a broom in hand.  we are shaking like leaves.  laura finally starts to tell me that they were behind the cash wrap folding shirts when they all of a sudden decided to head to the back to start steaming.  as they are walking back they hear a crash and see a car driving through the doors and they book it for the back door and continue to hear crashing of all sorts.  a young 15 year old girl with a permit mistook the gas pedal for the brake.  they came through the entire store!  LUCKILY NO ONE WAS HURT!!!!!  there were no customers in the store.  our cash wrap is the heaviest thing in the world and it got pushed back to the wall where the girls had just been.  

i just can't even start to explain how blessed we were that no one was hurt.  i can't even start to think about the 'what ifs' because they are far worse than what actually ended up happening.  i am still so sick that they couldn't get a hold of me sooner!  not that i would have changed anything, but i just feel bad for the 2 girls.  they were so shaken up!  i sent the girls home, the my sister char and the other owner chelsea trickled in and were just in shock.  amanda my district manager and ken our i.t. guy are taking pictures.  the girl who was driving is hysterical, her mom was still sitting in the car and her dad was ushering the daughter out of the store with what i can only assume was family.  no one really knew what to do.  they backed out the car and we tried to sweep up the glass, but were worried that we would get hurt.  literally glass covered the floor like diamonds.  it reminded me of the mining scene on snow white, we were just missing the dwarfs to sing hi ho.  i stayed with amanda until we got the doors boarded up...7 hours later.

i feel so inadequate to have been blessed with the safety of my staff.  i love the girls i work with and feel like they are my little sisters.  i know that sounds lame, but i truly do love them.  i just don't understand how NO ONE was injured.  it is an honest to goodness miracle.  a tender mercy.  i am in shock.  just another reason to count my blessings.  today could have ended so much worse and the fact that everyone walked away unscathed is unfathomable.

we are hoping to have the store up and running by friday, with particle board doors, but glass free!

sayonara

2010-04-09T19:05:00.003-06:00

i am off
i am leaving for the airport at the crack of dawn
i am semi packed
i have my passport
i have cash
i have a big straw hat
i have new aviator shades
i have swim suits
i have tanks...one for only $1.97!!!!
i have shorts
i have skirts
i have v.necks
i have underwear
i have tanning lotion
i have books
i have tunes

aaaaahhhhhh...that is my sigh of relief to be ready
aaaaahhhhhh...that is my mantra for the next week

if i die on the boat, you can have my shoes
you can have my laptop
you can have my collection of elephant necklaces
you can even have my car

you're welcome

goodbye sweet blogging world for 9 days of sun!

peace.love.cruise

please don't tell my trainer

2010-03-25T22:56:00.004-06:00

i started insanity today.

what is insanity you may ask yourself...

this is insanity.

imagine p90x on crack.

and you won't even come close to how intense insanity is.

sean t is the craziest s.o.b in the land. yes i said 'in all the land'. he is so crazy. his body is sic...and i mean sic. the people on the workout video have sic bods. the people in the workout video are dropping like flies about 20 minutes after i drop like a fly. sean t is yelling at you the whole time to dig deep, but you know what? i think it is possible to have dug as deep as you possibly can before you die. you hear that sean t? you dig all the way to china if you want, i will dig through the carpet okay?

i started with the fitness test. have you ever done push.up jacks. uh huh. i said push.up jacks. that is when you get into a push.up position, and as you lower your body down to the ground you jump you legs out as if you wear doing a jumping jack. then as you raise you body you jump your legs back into the regular push.up position. death...yes. try it, you will thank me later.

my whole point in telling you this...

my body hurts.

good night.

another one

2010-03-24T23:30:00.003-06:00

so i totally forgot to mention that i found out this weekend that i am one of the most awkward conversationalists in the world. within the first few convos with m i may or may not have called him gay, made fun of his middle name and he may or may not have called me sir. yeah so i am not totally convinced this will go too far. but the good news is that our last meeting we were totally relaxed and considering it was during a 3.5 hour seder, we had plenty of time to chit chat and learn plenty about each other.

and i just embarked on watching my sisters kids all weekend. wow, this should be fun.

jicama with a j...

2010-03-24T23:22:00.004-06:00

i am watching america's top model and am appalled by the fact that angelea is the most awkward and ugly model ever! and ren is a major loser. nuff said.

i met a boy
i cleaned my room
i made my bed
i hurt my finger
i ran outside
i got a new trainer
i made a jicama salad
i made potato latkes
i washed my hair
i like a boy

and it's only wednesday

best thing ever

2010-03-18T23:22:00.003-06:00

i have been staying at my sister's all week since her husband is off studying at harvard. tonight we went to check on her twins before we went to bed and jane was laying face down butt naked. her pj's were close beside her and her diaper stuffed in between their cribs. sadie on the other hand had just removed her pj's and was huddled under her blanket. we changed their diapers only to find that sadie had poop stuck to her little bum cheeks! i had to give her little hiney a little impromtu bath all the while she cried cause it started cold. we got them in new jammies and put them to bed once again and laughed hysterically at the picture char happend to snap of janie's sweet little bum cheeks. all in a day's work huh?

why do monday's hate me?

2010-03-08T22:40:00.002-07:00

i just made the most wonderful discovery tonight.

pushing daisies.

may be the best show ever. i had never seen it before until tonight and i LOVE it. really i think it is the most darling thing ever. when they kissed for the first time in the body bags...stop it. or when they made the little gold monkeys kiss. i thought it so fitting for the mood and the characters in the show. how did i miss this show in the past?

too late

2010-03-05T00:31:00.003-07:00

thanks to the snow today i found out that these gems of imitation corduroy preciousness are not water.proof. cool.

they were soaking mostly because when i got to my sisters this is what i found...

my sister standing 12 feet tall atop a ladder brushing snow off her satellite. don't stand in the way of this woman and her american idol viewing.

and sometimes when i get dressed i secretly hope that i have been nominated for tlc's what not wear and that my clothes will be viewed in the utterly entertaining and dreaded 'secret footage'. case and point...

what i think smee from peter pan would look like if he were a woman.

and this is the lovely view of the 'walk' i got to enjoy on the way to my house tonight.

i had to park forever away because the 8 stalls in my cul.de.sac were already taken. lovely.

bring on the lion

2010-03-04T17:03:00.004-07:00

remember how i woke up to this?

okay not literally this exact sunrise. but i woke up this morning and it was sunny and beautiful! not a cloud in the sky or a care in my world, i headed off to work.

then it started to get gloomy.

then it started to rain.

then it turned into snow.

this is what i drove home in...

now a few of you may be asking...but aly is it really safe to take pictures whilst driving? didn't you get in an accident in december. the answer is yes, but when you are only going 35 mph...you have the time to slam on your brakes if need be.

and guess who wore sandals today?

i know what you are thinking...who would wear gladiator sandals in the snow?

this girl...

awesome. you may also notice the water spots on my shirt. cool.

this is a nice shot of the aforementioned horses behind my house.

let's hope march goes out like a lamb.

so...

2010-03-01T17:10:00.004-07:00

anyway is the word i am looking for.

last week i moved. i was a monumental day and it was a long day coming. i hated my apartment. i hated the fact that the bathroom door could still be opened while locked. i hated how the laundry room door never shut all the way. i hated the washer and dryer that didn't work. i hated the gross stained carpet. i hated the fact that my bed was smashed against the window and my dresser. i hated how freezing cold it was. i hated just about everything about that place. and anyone who saw it was stunned by how much i was paying a month. so the lease was up and i was looking for a place and it feel into my lap practically. i moved across the fence into a townhouse with a girl in my ward...jessie jensen. not the jessie jensen i have known since birth, but another jessie jensen. what are the odds. it is a spacious room...a little bit smaller closet...but i love it! i had to get rid of a lot of crap, but that is good. i like dejunking. it makes you feel really good and accomplished. i will post pictures...someday. i am currently sitting on my bed looking out the big window at the almost setting sun. which can we just talk about what a beautiful day it has been today? i mean come on! gorgeous! i can't wait for spring.

i saw jw the other day and it was a horrendous experience. my little sister emme turned 20. my best friend rae turned 25 and we went for sushi with drunk losers, and i wasted a really cute outfit for that experience. i went to ihop and got sick. i went to 5 guys burgers and fries and got sick. every morning when i wake up my back is all stiff and i feel ancient. there's a horse in the field by my house and i can see it from my window! oh how sweet.