Let it snow

Oh I just love making things for my house! I spent quite a bit of time at the Little Blue house in Keller today. I made these blocks that on one side say "Let it snow" and the other side says "Ho Ho Ho". Now yes, these are for Christmas, but I will have them for next year. The little blue house is going to have a new project or saying for each holiday to go on the blocks. So I will get to use them all year long! I put the blocks together using mod podge, which is becoming my new favorite thing. Once I was finished, I took them home and made my parents come over for a (free-home-cooked meal) just so they could see it! And now here it is for you to enjoy as well!

Fight Raiders Fight

So while I was patiently waiting for my sister to meet me for lunch today, I decided to browse through the upstairs store at Market Street. They have many wonderful things at this store, but unfortunately they are not in my budget. While I was browsing, I came across this Texas Tech Plate. I've seen it before when I was in Lubbock, and was tempted to buy it until I saw the price. But I think I am going to take the "saying" on this plate and turn it into something crafty of my own...maybe a picture frame? It's still undecided, but I wanted to share the plate regardless. Since the Tech bowl game is this weekend, I thought this would be the perfect oppurtinity to show some love my school! Wreck'em Tech!

The Christmas Blessing

So today I started and finished the first book on my 25 books that I have to read. I read The Christmas Blessing. I am truly a sucker for these kinds of books. I am a firm believer in destiny, faith, and miracles and this was that kind of book. I cried probably the last half of the book. This book hit a little too close to home being about sick children, but it also touched me in more ways than one. There are tons of euphemisms (sp?) in this book that I can relate to. One thing this book really touched on was that everyone has a defining moment or a series of events that makes that person who they are and what they are destined to do. I truly believe this happens to everyone. I do not believe I have had that defining moment, but I do believe there are a series of events that have taken place in my life that have shaped me into the person I am becoming. One being my little sister's death. I gave more love to my little sister than probably anyone on this planet, and just by being so special she gave me more than I could have ever asked for. That is probably why several of my 25 things to do concern her or the things that shaped her life. Colleen never complained, she was always smiling, and she could brighten any room with her cute little laugh. There were never words from Colleen, but there was never silence either. Just seeing the joy she brought to other people's lives without doing much of anything was a miracle in itself. On the day of my sister's funeral, I couldn't believe how many people were in the audience. Many of these people were supporting my mom and dad, but so many of them were there because Colleen had touched their life in some way. So just like in this book, I do believe I have a purpose out there and I will find it some day! So i'm going to end with this: And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

PIZZA

So one of my all time favorite foods growing up was pizza, but because I became an obsessed weight watcher and workoutaholic during college I gave up pizza completely. I wouldn't even eat the lean cuisine pizza's that are supposed to be healthier for you! Well this became a problem when Rene and I got married because he LOVES pizza and he orders it at least every other week and his family loves pepperoni pizza. They would get it almost every time I would go down at least for one meal. I would always go and get Subway because in my mind I knew I was eating healthier, plus I don't have his family's skinny genes! Well recently I have kind of finally let loose and allowed myself to enjoy pizza again. In Disney World I had a meditterian pizza like every day for dinner and a wonderful woman by the name of Letitia Johnson introduced me to iFratelli's.....this has become my new favorite meal. I love the staff special, which is chicken, tomatoes, and artichokes (of course I cut the artichokes). But I love that fact that I can finally let myself enjoy the pizza and not feel guilty about it! So my picture for today is of the leftover pizza because since we finished the whole thing!

Skyping

Oh and I realized that I accomplished #21 on my list of 25 things to do. I skyped with Rene's family on Christmas! So check one thing off the list!

Moose pajamas

So my mom got me moose pajamas for Christas and to prove to her that I do like them and will wear them I took a picture of myself with them on and sent it to her! This past summer my family and I went to Jackson Hole, Wyoming where we saw several moose among other animals. We stayed at the Teton Lodge for part of our trip and I saw these pajamas that I had wanted and she secretly bought them for me! The shirt says Chocolate Moose in case you can't see it in the picture!

I love Christmas

This morning I was awoken at 5:00 a.m. by my lovely dog, Chloe. She was just so excited to go outside because she found a rabbit in the backyard the night before. Well I got up to let her out and then of course all the other dogs wanted to follow. Thankfully both of my parents were already awake and reading the paper. This morning we all made breakfast together and then opened our presents. After we finished opening all of the gifts from my family, which included gift cards, money, clothes, and a new home theater system for Rene, we put a skype call into Rene's family. Skype is truly an amazing invention. I love that we could feel like we were at Rene's parents house even though we are 6 hours away. We were able to watch everyone open their presents. I am so blessed by my husband's family. Together they gave me an iPad among other precious things! It makes me feel so loved that they always go out of their way to make sure I get gifts they know I will love! After all of the opening, my family and I went to see Little Fockers- this movie was not good at all, and I would not recommend it. We came home and ate dinner and then began to watch the Cowboy game. My two pictures for December 25th are of my puppies, who became quite tired after such a long day.

Christmas Eve

My picture for December 24th is of my husband and I after the Christmas Eve service. We attended the Candlelight service at the First United Methodist Church in Ft. Worth. I have grown up in this church and the service is absolutely magical for me. It saddens me to know that this was probably the last time I will ever attend that service. After the service my family and I went and looked at Christmas Lights then we watched The Family Stone. Because we spent Christmas up here this year, I was able to talk Rene into staying at my parents house on Christmas Eve. So we had to load up all three dog cages and bring them to my parents. My mom was not too happy that Miss Sadie went to the restroom several times on her new wood floors, but my mom did admit that she wouldn't have had it any other way!

Waiting for Santa

I spent most of my day making this adorable little chair for my mom. She has placed it right beside her fireplace. All it took was some scissors, paper and a little mod podge. This is my picture for today, the 23rd

Christmas with the family

My picture for December 22nd is of the Adair/Creigan/Stevens Christmas!

Lunch with the kinder team

Today, the kinder team met for lunch at cheesecake factory in Southlake and then we all went to see "How Do You Know". Lunch was fantastic, but you can't go wrong at the Cheesecake factory. We had a waiter would was maybe the tallest person I have ever seen! At the end of our meal we enjoyed the Turtle Carmel Cheesecake, suggested by Christian. I'm not a cheesecake fan but I did sneak in a little bite! After the movie, we exchanged our secret santa gifts! Jen had me and she gave me a giftcard to the Southlake Central market to take a cooking class, which is one of the things on my list! I love it and I can't wait to take the class! I'm still deciding if I should do a dessert class or an actual meal class....hmmmm! Well my picture today is of the cheesecake we shared! I very much enjoyed getting to meet with my team outside of school!

A day with Willow and Lexie

Today two of my former students and I made Christmas tree cupcakes and decorated. The girls came over and we played with the dogs and baked cookies. We had so much fun! I miss seeing my girls and it amazes me how much they have already grown up between kindergarten and first grade! They very much enjoyed running around with all three dogs in the backyard. Lexie made a big leaf pile and got really comfortable right in the middle and sat watching the dogs! Willow enjoyed the arts and crafts. My picture for today is of one of the girls playing outside with the dogs!

Harley Bear

My picture for yesterday December 19th is of my sister's dog, Harley. She lives with us while my sister is in school and because my mom will not let Harley stay at her house because she is too wild. Harley is quite hyper, but she recently went to stay with her dad in Lubbock over the Thanksgiving holiday, and she has now returned quite calm. She is even better with Sadie then Chloe. She doesn't wrestle with her and she is very gentle. Now she does growl occasionally, but for the most part she has been great!

Bachelorette Madness

My picture for yesterday, December 18th is of my beautiful sister-in-law at her lingere shower! We spent the weekend in Austin with several of the girl Aelvoet family members as well as some of Erin's friends. I arrived on Saturday just in time for the scavenger hunt. I was in group number 2 with Dana, Alex and Whitney. We went on a hunt around Austin to answer about 25 questions. We had a lot of fun doing the hunt, but we came in second place. That nightwe started the festivities off with the lingere shower! Then all the girls went out to dinner on 6th street. Me being me, I steered away from the alcohol, but the others sure enjoyed theirs! I had a really great time and I hope that the party was everything Erin wanted it to be! So my picture for the 18th is dedicated to her!

Santa came to school today

I absolutely love the day before Christmas break! Today was kindergarten pajama day so I was super comfortable all day! We had a sing along in the morning and Santa came to visit all the kiddos in a helicopter, which they love! Our party was a huge hit as well. I am so glad my kiddos and I survived this crazy week! We have all worked hard the past 3 months of school and are going to get a well-deserved 2 week break! My picture today is with the Reindeer, who is also a former teacher and friend of mine! And just for her GO HORNED FROGS!!!

Crafting

One of my hobbies is scrapbooking or crafting. I find so much joy in making things for others and for my house! This particular picture I am posting today is from a project that I finished tonight. This project took me about 7 hours to complete, but it was well worth my time. It is a "believe" book for the holidays. It is made of cardstock and wood. Then decorated with paper, glitter, ribbons and bows! The scrapbook store that I do many of my projects at is now closing. I am quite sad about this, but very happy that a friend of mine is opening another one that offers the same things. Though it is a bit further from my house I am going to continue my crafting madness because it helps me to distance and calm myself after a day at work!

The first post today is for the picture I took yesterday, December 15th. I was once again quite exhausted so I sat by the fire and watched television most of the evening. But as I sat there I starred at my Christmas tree that I am in love with. I look at it and it just reminds me how blessed I am to have such wonderful family and things in my life. I am so grateful for all that I have and the holidays just puts things into perspective.

So last year I bought these Christmas bowls for like 75% off at Dillards the day after Christmas. This was like a huge deal, and I didn't get to use them since Christmas was over. Then I completely forgot about them until tonight, so I pulled them out and I had cereal for dinner just so that I could use my new bowls! I love Christmas time so much and I wish it were Christmas year-round! I've also decided that I have a love-hate relationship with the week before Christmas break. I love all of the cool things we do at school, but the kiddos are CRAZY at this time of year.....I almost need an energy pill just to get me to Friday. But only 3 more days!

Exhausted

My picture for today describes how Sadie and I both feel today. We are exhausted. The week before Christmas is always a fast and tiring week. The kids are crazy and there is so much to get done before the break. At the end of the day I am just exhausted. Sadie and Chloe are starting to play together. The only problem is Sadie keeps biting Chloe with her puppy bite and Chloe is not liking that so she turns around and growls at her. My sister's dog, Harley, is back with us so I now have 3 schnauzers living under my roof. That means 3 dog bowls, 3 baths, and 3 large cages which is a lot of time and money....but I love them anyway!

A Christmas Tea

My picture for Sunday December 12th is all of the goodies I prepared for my mom's Christmas party. I baked chocolate covered pretzel sticks, puppy chow, gingerbread teacakes (not in the picture) and peanut butter fudge. We also had cake balls from Celebrity and hot apple cider that we purchased from the L.D. Bell craft fair! It was nice to see my mom's friends, some of whom are my old teachers. It was the perfect way to end a cold Sunday. Earlier in the morning, my mom and I attended the Christmas concert at the Whites Chapel United Methodist Church in Southlake. It was packed and for good reason. The entire service was a concert about the birth of Jesus. They had a full orchestra and choir. It was beautiful and helped me to remember the reason for Christmas.

This photo was taken last night, (December 11th). I went and celebrated my birthday with my friends at the Cheesecake Factory in Southlake. I spent most of the day trying to finish my Christmas shopping and baking for my mom's afternoon tea that she is holding. She has a tea every year, but she can't bake or cook very well. So I get voluntered for this every year. So after a long day of hustling and bustling, it was nice to sit and eat dinner with a few of my friends. Thank you to those of you who made it out to dinner! I think the Cheesecake menu gets larger every time I go there. I settled for the mini house salad and the mini margarita pizza! Then all 8 of us split the Red velvet cheesecake for dessert! The white chocolate peices on the back of the cheesecake are amazing! I know the photo didn't come out that well, but the plate says Happy Birthday to you! Until this afternoon, have a wonderful Sunday!

The dessert season is finally upon me!

Well today I woke up feeling somewhat sick, so my wonderful husband volunteered to go to Target for me to get my cooking items! Every year my mom hosts a holiday tea and since she is lacking in the baking department, I kind agree to bake for her. On this years menu we are having peanut butter fudge, puppy chow, chocolate dipped pretzels, gingerbread fruit cakes, cake balls, fruit and crackers. I absolutely love to bake in the kitchen, and if I could avoid tasting everything I might be about 10 pounds lighter. But I have finally come to a place in my life where I am accepting how I look and I am completely 100% happy about it! Now that the items have been purchased it is time for the baking to begin.

Today is the day!

So today begins my journey into the year of being 25. I woke up pretty stuffed up and with a sore throat so hopefully I am not getting sick. Anywho it was a great day. I was treated to lunch
by my team, which was awesome! I wore my tiara all day just to make sure that everyone knew it was my birthday. I can't lie, next to Christmas my birthday is my absolute favorite holiday/day. My kiddos were very good today and the day flowed well! I ended my night with dinner at Red Lobster with my closest family! I'm a nerd and I wanted them to sing happy birthday to me, so my sister made sure to tell them! So as I turn a quarter of a century old- my only thoughts are that I am happy to be healthy and surrounded by people that I love! I am so blessed and I thank God everyday for all that he has given me!
~alysa~

Happy 25th Birthday to me!

So today is the day before my 25th birthday, a year that I'm hoping is going to be one of the best years of my life! I have finalized my list of 25 things I want to do the year I turn 25. Here is the list.
1. Go to the Harry Potter Theme Park- I successfully did this over Thanksgiving break and it was one of the best vacations I have ever been on.
2. Read 25 books I've never read.
3. Try 25 foods I've never tried before.
4. Put on a 3-course dinner party at my house.
5. Take a cooking class.
6. Participate in a mini-triathlon or 5k.
7. Attend a Cowboy's football game.
8. Go to an aquarium.
9. Have a beverage in honor of my little sister, Colleen's 21st birthday on March 8th.
10. Purchase cowgirl boots and wear them out.
11. Be in a wedding.
12. Put red in my hair.
13. Donate something to Cook Children's hospital.
14. Join a church.
15. Write a letter to a congressman/woman.
16. Attend a concert for one of my favorite singers.
17. Start and finish my wedding scrapbook.
18. Add to my family.
19. Buy my first house with Rene.
20. Go karoke with friends.
21. Skype with a friend.
22. Stop, relax, and paint a picture.
23. Go horseback riding.
24. Volunteer for something.
25. Take a picture for everday of being 25 and post it on my blog.

I will post my first picture tomorrow and will check off everytime I complete something on my list!