101 in 1001 Monthly Update

1. Make a wreath for my front door
2. Go to the Texas State Fair - 10/4/10
3. Eat a meal from a food truck
4. Go to the symphony
5. Go 1 week without watching TV - 1/9/11
6. Finally buy wedding pictures...
7. Hang wedding pictures
8. Go to the ballet with Jed - 11/27/10
9. Go to The Sixth Floor Museum
10. Finish my T-shirt quilt I started 2 3 years ago - 3/23/11
11. Go to the Ft. Worth Zoo - 10/2/10
12. Lose 20 pounds!! - 11/3/10
13. Lose 20 more pounds
14. Go snorkeling again
15. Catch up on 30 Rock - 12/6/10
16. Eat vegetarian for a week
17. Go to a Rangers game - 5/13/11
18. Do a ropes course
19. Write in my journal every day for 1 month
20. Go rock climbing again
21. Go back to school - 3/23/11 :)
22. Take a picture each day for 3 months
23. Ride on a train
24. Bear my testimony in church
25. Get my picture taken by a professional (once I get under 200lb)
26. Get our family photo taken by a professional (once I get under 200lb)
27. Swim 10 continuous laps
28. Get a dog
29. Visit NASA
30. Family prayer and Personal scripture study every day for 1 month - 2/3/11
31. Visit San Antonio during a holiday
32. Join a choir - 10/10/10
33. Make a sourdough starter - 5/9/11
34. Go white water rafting again
35. Pick up the violin again
36. Take Jed to a rodeo - 1/20/11
37. Buy cowboy boots or hats - 11/6/10
38. Get in the car and drive 2 hours in one direction with the windows down and the radio blasting
39. Visit all great-grandparents' grave sites
40. Go to the Dallas Temple - 2/23/11
41. Take Jed to a jazz bar
42. Fly a kite
43. Go to a haunted house with Jed - 10/25/10
44. Complete Couch to 5K Challenge
45. Participate in an organized 5K
46. Get my palm read or fortune told
47. Go on another cruise with Jed
48. Help build a Habitat for Humanity house
49. Make Mom's cinnamon rolls - 10/30/10
50. Make Theresa's cinnamon rolls
51. Go to Schlitterbahn with Jed
52. Buy a homeless person lunch - 3/14/11
53. Have a baby
54. Watch the Zombie Walk - 10/16/10
55. Pay off Jed's car!! - 10/19/10
56. Go fishing with Jed
57. Be 100% credit card debt-free
58. Ride horses
59. Go to the Dallas Aquarium
60. Dance to a vinyl record
61. Take a cooking class
62. Get an SLR a video camera
63. Skydive
64. Visit Gettysburg or Williamsburg
65. Make out in the rain
66. Go to Six Flags with Jed
67. File my own taxes without calling Daddy - 2/22/11
68. Make a hole-in-one
69. Take a hot-air balloon or helicopter ride
70. Change my own oil
71. Go to NYC or San Francisco with Jed
72. Take an art class
73. Jump around in a mosh pit again
74. Go to a circus - 10/14/10
75. Deep clean my bathroom - 2/10/11
76. Visit my sister, Laurel, in California - 4/6/11
77. Ride a motorcycle  Buy a house
78. Get a TX driver's license again - 9/29/10
79. Go one week three days without carbs
80. Dance barefoot
81. Get all dressed up and go to a fancy dinner
82. Get on a bike again
83. Buy myself flowers for no reason - 2/12/11
84. Go camping in Texas with Jed - 5/6/11
85. Go camping on a beach
86. Go to the Texas beach with Jed
87. Donate blood again
88. Spend a night with the lights off, watching a lightning storm - 11/15/10
89. Go to the Grand Canyon
90. Have a meaningful conversation with a beggar
91. Paint pottery again
92. Join a bowling or softball league
93. Watch a movie at a drive-in
94. Grow and eat my own vegetables
95. Sing karaoke again
96. Take the Riverwalk boat tour - 11/6/10
97. Don't eat out for 1 month 2 weeks
98. Go to the batting cages with Jed - 4/1/11
99. Donate plasma
100. Eat fried green tomatoes - 11/6/10
101. Do 1 correct push-up

Fitness Challenge Invitation

Earlier this year I participated in a fitness/health challenge and I did really well with it. I have decided to head my own fitness challenge starting on Monday and would love for any of you who are interested to join me. Let me know and I'll give you the details.

Baby Halloween Costumes

This really has nothing to do with anything, but I wanted to document this for when I have a baby.
http://www.bestweekever.tv/2008-10-31/25-reasons-to-have-a-baby-this-halloween/

Can I Go on Strike?

I just need to sort through my thoughts. Bare with me.
Jed has asked me to start looking for a[nother] job. I have a part-time job, I do an aerobics class on my day off, and I am currently taking an online class as well. On the one hand, I do have quite a bit of time on my hands, but on the other hand, I am getting things done (losing weight and getting an education). We're trying to save for a house and I know that the extra income would be so helpful, but I am scared that if I get a full-time job it will become my whole life. Not literally, but I know myself and I foresee me being too tired in the evenings to work out and study. Sigh.
So that's the big thing on my mind right now.
I really love my aerobics class and would be really sad to give it up. The summer session starts at the beginning of June and I have to sign up soon, but I don't want to sign up, get a job, and lose my registration fee. Plus, it really motivates me to have a class to go to and the ladies in there are so nice.
I really like the job I have now - I love the mom and girl I work with and the schedule is ridiculously flexible. I don't know if I'm ready for a 9-5 job. That's a long day, every day. Then I also have to be so good about planning my food because I'll be away from home all day. I'm doing so well with my diet (not diet, just food intake) right now and I don't want to slip on that.
I don't even know where to start job hunting. The last two jobs I've had have been nannying and the three before that were through a staffing agency. I would just go to a staffing agency, but there aren't any good ones where I live, or else they rarely have jobs (I looked in to it when we first moved here). Also, because I've mostly worked through agencies, I am so rusty on my interview skills and my wardrobe would need a face lift. Ugh. I'm just dreading it.

101 in 1001 Monthly Update

1. Make a wreath for my front door
2. Go to the Texas State Fair - 10/4/10
3. Eat a meal from a food truck
4. Go to the symphony
5. Go 1 week without watching TV - 1/9/11
6. Finally buy wedding pictures...
7. Hang wedding pictures
8. Go to the ballet with Jed - 11/27/10
9. Go to The Sixth Floor Museum
10. Finish my T-shirt quilt I started 2 3 years ago - 3/23/11
11. Go to the Ft. Worth Zoo - 10/2/10
12. Lose 20 pounds!! - 11/3/10
13. Lose 20 more pounds
14. Go snorkeling again
15. Catch up on 30 Rock - 12/6/10
16. Eat vegetarian for a week
17. Go to a Rangers game
18. Do a ropes course
19. Write in my journal every day for 1 month
20. Go rock climbing again
21. Go back to school - 3/23/11 :)
22. Take a picture each day for 3 months
23. Ride on a train
24. Bear my testimony in church
25. Get my picture taken by a professional (once I get under 200lb)
26. Get our family photo taken by a professional (once I get under 200lb)
27. Swim 10 continuous laps
28. Get a dog
29. Visit NASA
30. Family prayer and Personal scripture study every day for 1 month - 2/3/11
31. Visit San Antonio during a holiday
32. Join a choir - 10/10/10
33. Make a sourdough starter
34. Go white water rafting again
35. Pick up the violin again
36. Take Jed to a rodeo - 1/20/11
37. Buy cowboy boots or hats - 11/6/10
38. Get in the car and drive 2 hours in one direction with the windows down and the radio blasting
39. Visit all great-grandparents' grave sites
40. Go to the Dallas Temple - 2/23/11
41. Take Jed to a jazz bar
42. Fly a kite
43. Go to a haunted house with Jed - 10/25/10
44. Complete Couch to 5K Challenge
45. Participate in an organized 5K
46. Get my palm read or fortune told
47. Go on another cruise with Jed
48. Help build a Habitat for Humanity house
49. Make Mom's cinnamon rolls - 10/30/10
50. Make Theresa's cinnamon rolls
51. Go to Schlitterbahn with Jed
52. Buy a homeless person lunch - 3/14/11
53. Have a baby
54. Watch the Zombie Walk - 10/16/10
55. Pay off Jed's car!! - 10/19/10
56. Go fishing with Jed
57. Be 100% credit card debt-free
58. Ride horses
59. Go to the Dallas Aquarium
60. Dance to a vinyl record
61. Take a cooking class
62. Get an SLR a video camera
63. Skydive
64. Visit Gettysburg or Williamsburg
65. Make out in the rain
66. Go to Six Flags with Jed
67. File my own taxes without calling Daddy - 2/22/11
68. Make a hole-in-one
69. Take a hot-air balloon or helicopter ride
70. Change my own oil
71. Go to NYC or San Francisco with Jed
72. Take an art class
73. Jump around in a mosh pit again
74. Go to a circus - 10/14/10
75. Deep clean my bathroom - 2/10/11
76. Visit my sister, Laurel, in California - 4/6/11
77. Ride a motorcycle  Buy a house
78. Get a TX driver's license again - 9/29/10
79. Go one week three days without carbs
80. Dance barefoot
81. Get all dressed up and go to a fancy dinner
82. Get on a bike again
83. Buy myself flowers for no reason - 2/12/11
84. Go camping in Texas with Jed
85. Go camping on a beach
86. Go to the Texas beach with Jed
87. Donate blood again
88. Spend a night with the lights off, watching a lightning storm - 11/15/10
89. Go to the Grand Canyon
90. Have a meaningful conversation with a beggar
91. Paint pottery again
92. Join a bowling or softball league
93. Watch a movie at a drive-in
94. Grow and eat my own vegetables
95. Sing karaoke again
96. Take the Riverwalk boat tour - 11/6/10
97. Don't eat out for 1 month 2 weeks
98. Go to the batting cages with Jed - 4/1/11
99. Donate plasma
100. Eat fried green tomatoes - 11/6/10
101. Do 1 correct push-up

Friday Foto Fix - California

Last week I pulled off the greatest surprise of my life! I flew in to California to visit my sister for her birthday! She was so surprised - it was awesome!!


I didn't get a ton of pictures, but some of the highlights from the trip were riding the ferry to Balboa Island and walking around, getting a frozen banana (a must), and walking up and down the pier.

 

We also went to Newport Beach, the famous Sprinkles cupcake store, and had a day at the beach.

Laurel and her sandcastle before the monsters came and destroyed it.

  

Eli loved getting buried!

Yep, that guy was definitely combing the beach with a metal detector and a digger.

Laurel also taught me how to make my own silkscreen(ish) t-shirts. It was so fun, and not even that hard! The first one is one I made for myself and the second one I made for Jed. ;)

And if you can't tell, that's West Virginia, where Jed is from. haha

And of course I got to enjoy some really yummy food while I was there: Cafe Rio, In-N-Out twice, Ancho's, Laurel's home cookin', etc. 

It was a really fun (and too short) vacation and I can't wait until I can go back!

Five Facts

1. I have never been summoned for jury duty.
2. I don't like gamey meats. Sometimes chicken is even too gamey for me.
3. I have a high pain tolerance. (When I was 4, I broke my arm and didn't even cry, or realize it was broken.)
4. My new favorite thing is to eat my Thai Chicken Salad at Panera while reading a book. I do it about once a week.
5. Nutella has become a staple in my home.

101 in 1001 Monthly Update

1. Make a wreath for my front door
2. Go to the Texas State Fair - 10/4/10
3. Eat a meal from a food truck
4. Go to the symphony
5. Go 1 week without watching TV - 1/9/11
6. Finally buy wedding pictures...
7. Hang wedding pictures
8. Go to the ballet with Jed - 11/27/10
9. Go to The Sixth Floor Museum
10. Finish my T-shirt quilt I started 2 3 years ago - 3/23/11
11. Go to the Ft. Worth Zoo - 10/2/10
12. Lose 20 pounds!! - 11/3/10
13. Lose 20 more pounds
14. Go snorkeling again
15. Catch up on 30 Rock - 12/6/10
16. Eat vegetarian for a week
17. Go to a Rangers game
18. Do a ropes course
19. Write in my journal every day for 1 month
20. Go rock climbing again
21. Go back to school - 3/23/11 :)
22. Take a picture each day for 3 months
23. Ride a train
24. Bear my testimony in church
25. Get my picture taken by a professional (once I get under 200lb)
26. Get our family photo taken by a professional (once I get under 200lb)
27. Swim 10 continuous laps
28. Get a dog
29. Visit NASA
30. Family prayer and Personal scripture study every day for 1 month - 2/3/11
31. Visit San Antonio during a holiday
32. Join a choir - 10/10/10
33. Make a sourdough starter
34. Go white water rafting again
35. Pick up the violin again
36. Take Jed to a rodeo - 1/20/11
37. Buy cowboy boots or hats - 11/6/10
38. Get in the car and drive 2 hours in one direction with the windows down and the radio blasting
39. Visit all great-grandparents' grave sites
40. Go to the Dallas Temple - 2/23/11
41. Take Jed to a jazz bar
42. Fly a kite
43. Go to a haunted house with Jed - 10/25/10
44. Complete Couch to 5K Challenge
45. Participate in an organized 5K
46. Get my palm read or fortune told
47. Go on another cruise with Jed
48. Help build a Habitat for Humanity house
49. Make Mom's cinnamon rolls - 10/30/10
50. Make Theresa's cinnamon rolls
51. Go to Schlitterbahn with Jed
52. Buy a homeless person lunch - 3/14/11
53. Have a baby
54. Watch the Zombie Walk - 10/16/10
55. Pay off Jed's car!! - 10/19/10
56. Go fishing with Jed
57. Be 100% debt-free
58. Ride horses
59. Go to the Dallas Aquarium
60. Dance to a vinyl record
61. Take a cooking class
62. Get an SLR a video camera
63. Skydive
64. Visit Gettysburg or Williamsburg
65. Make out in the rain
66. Go to Six Flags with Jed
67. File my own taxes without calling Daddy - 2/22/11
68. Make a hole-in-one
69. Take a hot-air balloon or helicopter ride
70. Change my own oil
71. Go to NYC or San Francisco with Jed
72. Take an art class
73. Jump around in a mosh pit again
74. Go to a circus - 10/14/10
75. Deep clean my bathroom - 2/10/11
76. Visit my sister, Laurel, in California
77. Ride a motorcycle  Buy a house
78. Get a TX driver's license again - 9/29/10
79. Go one week three days without carbs
80. Dance barefoot
81. Get all dressed up and go to a fancy dinner
82. Get on a bike again
83. Buy myself flowers for no reason - 2/12/11
84. Go camping in Texas with Jed
85. Go camping on a beach
86. Go to the Texas beach with Jed
87. Donate blood again
88. Spend a night with the lights off, watching a lightning storm - 11/15/10
89. Go to the Grand Canyon
90. Have a meaningful conversation with a beggar
91. Paint pottery again
92. Join a bowling or softball league
93. Watch a movie at a drive-in
94. Grow and eat my own vegetables
95. Sing karaoke again
96. Take the Riverwalk boat tour - 11/6/10
97. Don't eat out for 1 month 2 weeks
98. Go to the batting cages with Jed
99. Donate plasma
100. Eat fried green tomatoes - 11/6/10
101. Do 1 correct push-up

New Discovery

I had to pass this along because it's changed my life. And at the same time helped me waste spend hours online.

It's a website called StumbleUpon.com and it's fantastic. You make an account and choose areas of interest, then it gives you pages that fit into your interest categories. Does that make sense? Just try it, you'll love it. Or your money back

Friday Foto Fix - Quillow

I finally finished my T-shirt quillow! It only took me 3 years. Literally 3 years almost to the day. BUT it's done!!

This is My Fear

HOW TO KNOW WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE READY TO HAVE A BABY

MESS TEST

Smear peanut butter on the sofa and curtains. Now rub your hands in

the wet flower bed and rub on the walls.

Place a fish stick behind the couch and leave it there all summer.

Obtain a 55-gallon box of Legos. (If Legos are not available, you may

substitute roofing tacks or broken bottles.) Have a friend spread them

all over the house. Put on a blindfold. Try to walk to the bathroom or

kitchen. Do not scream (this could wake a child at night).

GROCERY STORE TEST

Borrow one or two small animals (goats are best) and take them with

you as you shop at the grocery store. Always keep them in sight and

pay for anything they eat or damage.

DRESSING TEST

Obtain one large, unhappy, live octopus. Stuff into a small net bag

making sure that all arms stay inside.

FEEDING TEST

Obtain a large plastic milk jug. Fill halfway with water. Suspend from

the ceiling with a stout cord. Start the jug swinging. Try to insert

spoonfuls of soggy cereal (such as Fruit Loops or Cheerios) into the

mouth of the jug while pretending to be an airplane. Now dump the

contents of the jug on the floor.

NIGHT TEST

Prepare by obtaining a small cloth bag and fill it with 8 to 12 pounds

of sand. Soak it thoroughly in water. At 8:00 PM begin to waltz and

hum with the bag until 9:00 PM. Lay down your bag and set your alarm

for 10:00 PM.Get up, pick up your bag, and sing every song you have

ever heard. Make up about a dozen more and sing these too until 4:00

AM. Set alarm for 5:00 AM. Get up and make breakfast. Keep this up

for 5 years. Look cheerful.

PHYSICAL TEST

Obtain a large bean-bag chair and attach it to the front of your

clothes. Leave it there for 9 months. Now remove 10% of the beans.

Purchase a newspaper. Go home and read it quietly for the last time.

FINAL ASSIGNMENT

Find a couple who already have a small child. Lecture them on how they

can improve their child's discipline, patience, tolerance, toilet

training, and table manners. Suggest many ways they can improve.

Emphasize to them that they should never allow their children to run

wild.

Enjoy this experience. It will be the last time you will have all the answers.

answers.

Friday Foto Fix - Fitness Challenge

For the past 10 weeks, I've been participating in a 10-Week Fitness Challenge. This was my countdown of the 70 days. I have changed a lot in the past 10 weeks - I've read my scriptures every day for 70 days, I've not had any soda since the start, I've only had one dessert per week (sometimes none), and I've worked out most weeks for 6/7 days! Good habits have been formed and I'm kind of sad to see it all end, but I am definitely a different person than I was 10 weeks ago. I can't post how much weight I've lost because I'm in a Biggest Loser competition and I don't want to give anything away, but I'll tell you if you message me and ask.

I was thinking that I might start up my own 10-Week Fitness Challenge. Would any of you be interested in joining the group?

Monday Memoirs

Friday - Jed was on a camp-out with the scouts (did I mention that he's the scoutmaster and is gone almost every weekend for something?). So I went to Panera by myself and got my new obsession: Thai Chicken Salad. I sat there and read a book by myself. I'm not a huge fan of eating by myself in public, but it was nice. Then I came home, watched some TV, and took a long bath. Then I read some more and went to bed.

Saturday - I got a wonderful facial in the morning. Then I went to the mall and walked around a bit - exercise and retail therapy all in one. Costco was next and then the farmer's market. Jed finally came home in time for dinner and then we watched The Land Before Time. I had only seen it maybe twice when I was a kid. Cute flick.

Sunday - Guess who was an hour late to church? And yes, my phone is my alarm and it changed automatically. But, 7:30 church was just not in the cards. I taught the Beehives for the second time. The first time I ran out of time, and this time I ended 20 minutes early! Haha! I'll get it eventually...
I got to take a nice nap and then we made my mom's tortilla soup for dinner. I took another bath (it's becoming a habit) and talked to my sister a little before bed.

Ali's ABC's

Since my blog has been boring as of late, I thought I'd do something. Still kinda boring, but whatevs.

A. age: 25
B. bed size: queen. I want to upgrade next year when we buy a house.
C. chore you dislike: dishes and sweeping.
D. dogs:  none now, but we'll get one when we get a house.
E. essential start to your day:  breakfast.
F. favorite color: blue.
G. gold or silver: white gold.
H. height:  5'6
I. instruments you play(ed):  voice, violin, piano, recorder, and spoons.
J. job title: nanny, wife, and housekeeper.
K. kids: waiting in Heaven for us.
L. live: I don't know if I understand the question... we live in Hurst, TX.
M. mom’s name:  Becky.
N. nicknames:  ali, albee, allister, al.
O. overnight hospital stays: gall bladder removal in 2005.
P. pet peeves: ignorance, fake people, and other peoples' dogs barking at me.
Q. quote from a movie: "I do a great impression of a hot dog."
R. righty or lefty: righty
S. siblings:  Emily, Laurel, Thomas, Angela, and Jeff [also Adam and Nathan]
T. time you wake up: somewhere between 8:30 and 11am
U. underwear: clean.
V. vegetables you don't like: none.
W. what makes you run late: thinking that everything is 10-15 minutes from my house.
X. x-rays you’ve had: teeth at the dentist, arm when it was broken, neck/back after a car accident, head when I cracked it open.
Y. yummy food you make: you tell me: goodellgoodies.blogspot.com. I'm partial to my thai food.
Z. Zoo animal favorites: all. I love the zoo!

Happy Friday