...Auld Lang Syne...

Let's get serious for a minute as we say goodbye to 2012.  Take a moment to reflect on all the positive and negative events of the year.  Have those moments made you a better person?  Do you feel like you accomplished anything this year?  If the answer to those questions is "no," perhaps it's time for you to set a couple New Year's Resolutions for 2013.

What does Auld Lang Syne mean?  Simply put, it means "times gone by."  So as 2012 draws to a close, I want to stop and remember some of the good and bad times I've had in 2012 that have influenced my life, in no particular order:

1. I visited my "sister" Donna in Alaska, as a surprise for her 26th birthday.

2. Brandon and I officially became a couple on July 11, 2012.  Free Slurpee Day!

3. I moved back to my parents house to save money to buy a house. 

But when that didn't work out...

4. I moved into Brandon's house with his family, to continue saving money to buy a house.

5. I purchased study materials for my Series 6 and 63 Securities Licenses.

6. Brandon and I went to San Francisco for our first weekend away together in March.

7. I had 30+ cake orders between January and September when I moved.

8. I was voted #2 on the KCRA 3 A-List as the Best Wedding Cake in Sacramento.

9. I reconnected with so many friends that I haven't seen in years.

10.  Friends turned to me for help with their troubled marriages.

11.  I lost a friend, Mackenzie Bleth, in a helicopter crash.

12. I took my brother out for his 21st birthday and his first legal drink.

13. I got to see my cousin Tim marry his best friend, Kate, after being together for 10 years.

14. I missed RJ and Angel's wedding =(

15. I spent a weekend at Universal Studios with Brandon and some family/friends.

16. I celebrated my 1st anniversary of my 25th birthday.

17. I celebrated 3 years at a job I strongly dislike.

18. I welcomed my newest nephew, Anderson, into the world.

And I think it's safe to say...I grew a lot in 2012.  I learned a lot about patience, envy, family, and love.  Not every part of 2012 has been pleasant, but I can go into 2013 knowing I had a great year overall, and I'm READY for whatever is waiting for me/us.  Brandon and I have so many goals we want to reach in the next year, and I can't wait to share all those things with you as they happen.  

I wish you all a very safe and happy new year.  Have a DD tonight.  Don't risk it.  I love you all, and I'll see you next year! <3

Friday IG Photo Dump

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thoughtful Thursday - Why Winter Sucks

Winter.

It's cold.  It's wet.  It's a terrible inconvenience, and there are some things that it's just pointless to try to do during the winter time.  For example:

1. Shaving your legs. 

It's freezing cold outside.  So you can shave in the morning, but as soon as you step outside, you have the female equivalent of a man's 5 o'clock shadow on your legs.  Sometimes I shave, get chills while still in the shower, and then I have to shave again!  Sadly, we can't just not shave.  

Especially when you share a bed with someone.  

2. Washing your car.

Today is a gorgeous day.  The sun is shining, it's not really windy, and it's not 40 degrees outside.  Today is the perfect day to wash your car, inside and out.  Detail it.  Clean out your change cup, wipe down your dash, and clean out your trunk.  But tomorrow, there will likely be a huge storm and all your hard work you did on the exterior of your car will be washed away.  Why bother washing your car when it's going to rain?  Mother Nature is literally going to piss on you and your efforts.

3.  Mowing the lawn.

The grass doesn't even grow in the winter, so why do I see our neighbors mowing their grass every other weekend?

4. Getting a pedicure.

You're likely wearing long man-socks and boots all winter, so what's the point in painting your toenails?  Who is going to see that?  I get it, treat yourself once in a while.  But in the winter?  Really?

5. Buying a swim suit.

This is the time when I want to see coats on the racks.  Not swim suits.  But oddly enough, there are swim suits out in the winter, and coats out in the summer.  This is ridiculously backwards. 

6. Eating ice cream.

Just kidding. There's no wrong time to eat ice cream.  Sure, it's cold.  But you deal with it because it's delicious.

In all seriousness, we're only days away from 2013.  In my lifetime, I've survived Y2K, and TWO days that were supposedly the end of the world.  2012 has been, by far, the greatest year of my life.  I'm not ready for it to be over, but 2013 looks more and more promising.  There are so many amazing things planned already. I haven't made a New Year's Resolution in many, many years, but I'm going to try it this year.  Here are a couple of my resolutions:

1. Slowly obtain a more colorful wardrobe, and try not to wear black to work all the time.

2. Make a bigger effort to have a better relationship with my dad.

3. Focus on the POSITIVE aspects of my job, instead of only the negative.

4. Don't get pregnant.

I'm pretty confident I can achieve all of these things, but we'll see how it goes! =)  

HAPPY  NEW YEAR!!!

Manic Monday at 1:00 am

How do you release anger and aggression at 1:00 am on a Monday morning?  You don't.  You sit in your living room and type angrily on your laptop while you vent to your loving boyfriend.  That's pretty much all you can do.  

Merry Christmas Eve.

May your Christmas this year be family-drama-free and full of love from people who accept that you are different.

"Don't be like the rest of them darling."

Manic Monday

It's been three weeks since I've had the desire, the content, or the balls for a new blog post.  But I suppose it's time.

As we get closer and closer to Christmas, parents and their children crowd the mall and nearby retail stores in search for gifts to give their friends and family.  I think taking your children Christmas shopping has its pro's AND con's.

Pro's:
1. Teach your children WHY you buy presents for other people.
2. Teach your children how to act properly in a crowd.

Con's:
1. If you don't believe in disciplining your children in public, their horrid behavior goes unpunished.
2. They want everything for themselves.
3. They're tired and cranky and pitch a fit.
4. They're NOT tired or cranky but still pitch a fit, just because.
5. You subject the general public to your child's tantrums and poor behavior.

There are many, many more pro's and con's, but these are the ones that come to mind based on my recent shopping experiences.

I was at Ross last week shopping for a New Year's Eve dress, which I found, and I'm totally excited about.  While I was in line to pay, there were two adult women with two small boys in line behind me.  I assume a Grandma, Mom, and two sons.  All of a sudden, the two boys started to fight and both began to throw a monster tantrum in the middle of the line.  Not just a little fit.  I'm talking about jumping up and down, stomping their feet, screaming and crying to the point of hyperventilation - all because they wanted a toy that mom wouldn't buy them.

At this point, I would have expected one of the two adults to take the kids outside.  But did that happen?

No.  Of course not.

Instead, the entire store was subjected to this meltdown.  The mother did nothing.  She let her kids scream and cry and throw their fits while everyone turned to look, I'm sure just to make sure no one was beating them or trying to kidnap them.  That's what it sounded like.  I turned around and looked at the older kid square in the eye, raised my eyebrows, he stuck his tongue out at me, I looked at the grandmother (who just shook her head), and turned back to the registers.

What would I have liked to say?

"Your kids are monsters.  Take those little brats outside!!!"

Look, if you don't want to discipline your kids, that's your own business.  But when YOUR business affects ME, that's MY business.  And your decision to not correct your demon child's behavior very much affects me out in public when I'm trying to make a simple purchase and go on with my day.  Teach your kids how to act in public.  If they misbehave, you put your cart to the side, take your brat outside, get him straightened up, and go back inside to resume the line with your items to pay.  I don't care what you're buying or how long you've waited in line.  Your child is your #1 priority, and teaching them to be a functioning, contributing member of society is your most important job.

"Ali, you don't have kids, so you can't comment."

WHATEVER!  Just because I've never experienced something doesn't mean I can't comment on it.  I've never jumped off a bridge but I can comment on how dangerous it is.  I've never lost a pet but I can comment on how sad it is.  What's the difference?

All I'm asking, is that if you have children who are misbehaving in public, take them to a private area and get them in line.  That's your job as a parent.  If you can't, then you leave and come back without children at a later time.  Maybe that's not practical at times, and I understand that.  But at least make an effort to get your kids to behave.  Don't just let them act like hooligans because you're too lazy to do anything about it.

I know what good parenting looks like.  I know these requests are possible, because I have a very close friend who has THREE kids that are all extremely well-behaved in public and at home.  The youngest is 2 1/2 and even HE knows how to behave.  So don't tell me it's hard or it can't be done.  Of course it's hard, but it's not impossible.

End rant.

Manic Monday - RIP MacKenzie Bleth

Last week, the world lost one of the funniest people I've ever met.  MacKenzie "Mack" Bleth was young, in love with his girlfriend, Lindsey, and one hell of a pilot.  

I met Mack through my best friend, Donna, up in Alaska.  We immediately became friends.  Donna's friends all know me, and I know them.  We all hang out when I visit, and I just got to spend a few days with Mack this past July while I was in Juneau.  I had the opportunity to fly with him while I was there, but since I'm a huge pussy about flying, and the weather wasn't ideal, we never made it up.  Instead, he took us all to play frisbee golf and bowling.  As usual, he was a total dork and made us laugh the whole time.  

Mack had just taken a job in Gettysburg, PA to work for a new aviation company.  He was on a contract job in Corning, NY to inspect power lines when investigators believe he clipped a line, got tangled, and crashed into an open space near the river.  

Here's a link to the story that was posted after the accident.

What makes me mad about the whole situation, is I was told it was only his second day on the job, and he was flying a helicopter he wasn't familiar with.  Why the HELL would this company send him up to inspect power lines when he wasn't ready?  Maybe he said he was ready and convinced them to let him go.  I don't know.  But as the liable company, they should have sent a more experienced employee.  He would have still been here today.

Being in California, I don't get to be near his friends or family to grieve with them.  The best I have is Facebook and text messages/phone calls with our mutual friends.  It's so hard to not be with your best friends while they're hurting.  And also hard to not have anyone around who knew him so that I can grieve too.  No, I didn't spend a lot of time with him, since we live in different states.  But we used to text and talk on Facebook, and we still built a friendship.  Living far apart didn't make us any less friends, and didn't make it any easier for me to learn that he was gone.  

I hope all my friends in AK, his family in OR, and the few in CA can take some kind of comfort knowing that he died doing what he loved, and he didn't suffer at all (from what I was told).  He's probably making fun of all of us for being sad.  Laugh on, Mack.  We hear you.

KCCO.

KCFO.

We'll never forget you.

Wishful Wednesday - Prayer Edition

For those of you who believe in the power of prayer, I'm asking you to please add these wishes to your prayer list.  I don't necessarily believe in prayer, myself.  But since it can't hurt to try, I'm gonna do it...

I wish for "SP" to have no harsh side effects of her upcoming chemotherapy.

I wish for Brandon's mom to not be in so much pain.

I wish for Momo to also be free of her head/neck pain.

I wish for my Aunt Vicki to continue a healthy recovery from her breast cancer.

I wish for this holiday season to not include drama and chaos as usual.

I wish for everyone to be able to be with their loved ones for Thanksgiving.

I wish for Arnie to heal quickly from his ailments, both mental and physical.

Even if you don't think it will help anyone to pray, knowing that you tried for them will make them feel better.   Well, probably not Arnie.  I think most people believe that prayer is more for mental and emotional healing.  If you take comfort and strength in knowing that 10 people are praying for you, then perhaps you'll you can channel it to physical help/healing.  

I don't know how it works, but I know that there are a lot of people who do it, and a lot of people who ask for prayers during tough times.  I also know a lot of people going through tough times right now.  It's hardest around the holidays.  So much stress, so much tension.  I wish everyone could just stop, for one day.  Thanksgiving is next week, and I challenge everyone to just make it a good day.  Pray for those around you to do the same.  See what happens.  You never know.

Manic Monday - Accident & All

Happy Monday!

It has been a busy day so far today.  Manic, for sure.  My weekend was pretty relaxed, since I was feeling more and more like crap as Friday drew near.  I canceled all my Friday and Saturday plans, and went straight to the gym Saturday morning to sit in the steam room and clear up my sinuses.  It felt amazing.  

Sunday, Brandon and I had free tickets to the Wiz Khalifa concert, in a suite, catered, with free parking.  Thank you to his work for getting me out of the house!  For a rap concert, it was a really great show.  Wiz puts on one helluva performance.  I was quite impressed.

Today has been amazing.  I've been SO productive at work, and have been designing invitations and party favors for our upcoming client appreciation events.  I went to lunch to do some office supply shopping, and on my way back, was rear-ended at a stop light by a large SUV.  I was just sitting at the light, literally thinking about what an awesome day I was having.  Then...BOOM!

We pulled over to the side of East Roseville Parkway, and the woman who hit me immediately started crying and apologizing.  It's funny, but I really feel like she was meant to hit me today, of all people.  She needed me.  She told me she was having a horrible morning, and she had been crying all day.  I told her I had just been thinking the opposite when she hit me.  She then proceeded to tell me about her pending divorce after 6 children and 30 years of marriage.  I couldn't do anything but give her a hug and tell her my story in a nutshell.

Married and divorced before age 25.

Best thing that ever happened to me.

Now I have the most amazing man in my life.

Never, ever been happier.

Wouldn't have done anything differently.

She'll be so much happier when it's all over.

She cried on my shoulder, and there was nothing I could do but hold her.  She called me "her Angel."  I hardly saw it that way, but I do think she needed me today.  People going through a divorce can't see what's waiting at the end.  It's often too painful to see the "light at the end of the tunnel."  But it's there.  And sometimes you just need someone to reassure you.  She thanked me for my kindness and for not being upset about her hitting me.  Luckily, there was almost zero damage to either one of our cars, despite the difference in size.  (Toyota Sequoia vs. Scion tC?  No contest.)  We both got very lucky today.

I don't see us being Facebook friends or anything, but it was as pleasant as it could be as a "car accident."

The two less-than-dime-sized white marks on my bumper are just a small reminder that there is always SOME good that can come out of any situation.  She gets a little piece of mind that this divorce is not the end for her, and I took great satisfaction knowing that I was able to give her that piece of mind.  She'll need a new front license plate frame, but I think she's gonna make it.  

Let this be a lesson to you all, that everyone has a story.  Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone has off-days.  Be patient.  Be open.  And be understanding of others.  You don't know what they've been through.  Maybe they need you, or maybe you need them.  Whoever "they" are...

Thursday Thoughts - The Use of Facebook

This whole past week I've done a lot of thinking about Facebook and its use as an outlet for everyone's individual thoughts and opinions.  Especially with the election on Tuesday, I've noticed a lot of people being a bit more....colorful....with their posts.  Examples:

"The world really is coming to an end if Obama is elected."

"Romney will ensure that you give birth to a bastard child if you're raped."

"I can't believe how dumb my friends are.  I'm ready to delete all of you!"

No joke.  Those were real posts.  On top of this, I've also seen a number of relationship status changes. 

"(Name here) went from being "in a domestic partnership" to being "single."

"(Name here) went from being "in a relationship" to being "single."

"(Name here) is now married."

When (Name here)'s friends comment to ask, "What happened?" or "Are you okay?," they are either ignored, or responded to with...

"I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT."

Then why didn't you delete your relationship status change?

Because it's MY facebook and I can post whatever I want.

True.  However, that will give people the right to question whatever you put on FB.

That doesn't mean I have to answer them.

True again.  But - that makes you a gigantic douche.  

People were doing the same thing about their political posts.  They posted whatever they wanted and expressed themselves, and then were hugely offended when someone of opposite political beliefs came at them with a legitimate, logical, factual argument.  Here's a quick rule of thumb for Facebook:

Anything posted on Facebook is public for your friends to see, unless you block them from that post.

Anything your friends see is open for comment.

Especially during a Presidential election, don't expect people to just sit back and read your posts.  People who disagree WILL comment, and they WILL debate your stance if they support an opposing position.  That's the beauty of this country.  Free speech, the right to vote, and the right NOT to vote.  

So for all of you who criticized me for not voting, 

I'd like to again remind you that I have just as much of a right not to vote 

as you have TO vote.  

Don't post anything you don't want to talk about, people.  And furthermore, no one cares about what you had to eat today, or about what you're making for dinner.  I can understand being proud of yourself for making a delicious meal. Sure, post a picture.  But I don't want to see:

"Decided to make meatloaf for dinner."

in one post, and then see:

"Changed my mind, now I'm making tacos."

5 minutes later.  

Cool story, bro.  

First of all, those are merely sentence fragments.  Secondly, it's annoying.

After being away from Facebook for a solid month, Brandon and I came back to realize how silly it really is.  Maybe we're just THAT awesome, which is highly likely.  I was really happy to see that my close friends and I still stayed in contact while my account was deactivated. I don't need this site to stay in touch with my close friends.  We still talked, texted, emailed, hung out, whatever the case was.  How many of you really know who your real friends are?  Delete Facebook and find out.  Seriously.  

In other news, my studly boyfriend won tickets to the Wiz Khalifa concert this Sunday at Sleeptrain Arena, and I'm fairly certain we get free parking and a luxury suite, thanks to VSP.  Be jealous.  

And finally, here's a picture of Bob Saget for Megan.  I feel like her Bob photos really liven up her blog, so I'm trying it out just for shits and gigs.  

Manic Monday

I don't know how I've gotten so lucky to have such a great life.  I had another fantastic weekend, with amazing people.  I took Friday off to deliver my very last wedding cake for 'miss alicakes.'  

It was bittersweet, but I feel like I went out with a Bang.  This was one of my favorite cakes, and definitely the most difficult design I've ever attempted.  Congratulations to Amy and Andrew on their new married life together :)

After the cake delivery, Brandon, our family/friends and myself all headed for Los Angeles for a weekend at Universal Studios!  We made it to LA by about 8:30 and ventured to City Walk for dinner and drinks.  Saturday we spent the whole day at Universal Studios, and had a nice dinner at BJ's.  Very chill, so much fun.  Sunday morning we decided to get up early (because we had to in order to check out on time) and hike up to the Hollywood sign!  We made it in about an hour, and then another 40 minutes or so on the way down.  I was the slowest, but at least I can say I did it :)  Brandon offered to carry me down the rest of the way because my feet hurt so bad by the end, but I couldn't let him do that...

Overall, we all had a fantastic time, and we even ran into some contestants from The Voice!  Here is our mini-vacay photo recap.  Enjoy!

LA Bound!

King Kong

Brandon's AMF

I felt like such a tourist

After the Mummy ride lol

The WB Water Tower

From the top of the Hollywood sign

We made it!

Waiting for the Waterworld Show to start

We found Diego Val and Nicholas David working out in our hotel, so we interrupted them for a picture!

Thirsty Thursday - Holiday Edition

Welcome, November!!!  

It is officially the Holiday season.  Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving, Black Friday/My Birthday, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve, and New Years Day.   

In the spirit of the cold weather, the rain, and all the upcoming holidays, I've decided to dedicate a Thirsty Thursday to my Top 5 favorite winter drinks.  Here goes... 

And remember, no holiday beverage from Starbucks would be complete without the almighty Christmas cup.

  

1) My favorite Starbucks beverage to put IN the Christmas cup, is the Peppermint Mocha.

Espresso, steamed milk, mocha sauce and peppermint flavored syrup, topped with sweetened whipped cream and dark chocolate curls.

2) The Pumpkin Spice Latte has grown increasingly popular over the last few years.  I finally tried it last year, and it really is quite delicious.
Espresso, pumpkin-flavored syrup and steamed milk. Topped with sweetened whipped cream and pumpkin pie spices.
3) Then there is a light alcoholic beverage called a Sleigh Ride.  I have these every year, the first weekend of December at the St. John's Craft Fair.
Hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps.

4) WINE!
Any white wine will do.  I'm not picky about this. 

5) And finally, my favorite childhood holiday beverage.....

Good, old fashioned hot chocolate with marshmallows.  You just can't beat it.

 

So as we move closer to these glorious holidays, please remember to drive safe, drink responsibly, and never alone.  The holidays are a time for family, friends, lovers, and group drinking. <3

Whiny Wednesdays

Happy HUMP Day!

 

Today, I have nothing to whine about.  I have no complaints, no beef, no quarrels, and no concerns.  I have a loving, handsome, considerate, amazing boyfriend, both of our amazing families that love and support us, a whole network of friends who are always there for me and still talk to me despite deleting my facebook account, and I have a great job in a terrible economy.

 

What could I possibly have to complain about?

 

Maybe next week we'll start doing Wishful Wednesdays instead of Whiny Wednesdays...

 

There's so much more in life to wish for than to whine about.  It's all about how you choose to view the world. 

 

 



Manic Monday

And yet ANOTHER fantastic weekend has come and gone.  I had one of the best weekends ever, from Friday to Sunday.  Friday night we celebrated TWO birthdays downtown, for Jessica and Hayley.  We started with dinner and then dancing at District 30 and DiveBar.  It was a blast from beginning to end.  Here's some photo evidence!

ALL the beautiful ladies <3

Me & Hayley

My silly love butt

Clearly, we had been drinking at this point.

I miss my roomie! <3

My man knows how to get down.  Just sayin.

#goodTimes

I found a Chiver!!!!!

Photo Op! 

Apparently I was really excited to wash my hands.

In the spirit of Halloween...



I love this man. <3


Then SATURDAY night we went to Weimar for a Halloween party!  I was Pocahontas, and Brandon was a cowboy.  (It was a theme party.)  I ended up winning Sexiest Female Costume, and I even lasso'd a couple hostages.  Overall, an amazing night, with amazing people, on an amazing piece of property.

Reward:  $6,000,000

He caught him an injun. 

How. 

I got me a cowboy!!!  Yeeeee hawwww!!

Aaaaand sexiest female costume goes to.......

ME! 

 

Sunday was spent recovering.  Sleeping in, running a few errands, and watching a movie with the love of my life.  I have zero complaints about the last three days.  I had so much fun, and got to spend time with some of my very favorite people in the world.  I hope everyone has a safe and Happy Halloween week!!!