Day Eleven

Day Eleven: A photo of your favorite movie
....this one was hard BUT I decided to pick just ONE!
Aren't you guys soooo proud?? :)

Here it is folks!



So if you know me...at all, you really won't be surprised. This was (still is obviously) my favorite Disney princess movie. I still love these kind of movies, but that's just the girlie-girl inside of me!

Side Note: My roommate can attest to my love of this movie: 22nd birthday: wake up, put on Sleeping Beauty crown, grab breakfast, watch "Sleeping Beauty".
You're all jealous, I know.
:)

So there it is. It's my favorite. It's heart warming, suspenseful, there's a princess and a prince, they fall in love just by dancing in the forest, they sing together, she's put under an evil spell, he's captured, breaks out, kills a dragon (a dragon who has summoned "all the powers of hell!" thank you very much!!), and kisses her, and they live happily ever after.
It's just my favorite! :)

While I'm here, let me announce I AM GRADUATING IN MAY OF 2012! I have worked out the classes, and between taking a few classes over the summer and whatnot, I have it all ready!
Let me tell you, it was getting close AND I have been somewhat freaking out (!!!) for the last week or two.
But now Alicia is happy.
Alicia is also happy that her prescription is working!
I can't remember if I mentioned but I was diagnosed with "cluster headaches" possibly the worst kind of headache (awesome, right? How lucky am I??), and was then given a more 'fitting' prescription, and it seems to be working.
I'm going to the health center tomorrow for a follow up appointment, and I should be getting a prescription to take everyday to prevent me from getting these lovely headaches ever again!
Can I get an amen??

Alrighty friends. Now that you're all caught up, I am going to go study me some music education, church history, 1 & 2 Samuel, math, some songs memorized, then it's off to bed for me!
Or possibly more procrastination.

And let's get real, there's definitely going to be SOME procrastination.

Sorry Mom.

Day Ten

Day Ten: A photo of you as a baby:



Sorry folks, this is as "young" as I can manage.
No. I did not come out this age or size. Haha..awkward...?

However I just don't have baby pictures of myself on my computer because...that would just be completely random. But I guess that's sort of the point of this, eh?

Anyway, this picture was from one of Andrea's epic birthday parties. I believe I am wearing one of my dad's old shirts that looks like a dress on me. It was actually one of my favorites because it had a cat on it.
Yes, I like cats. :)

I have homework, reading, and my chapel band callback songs calling my name...
Oh, and I have a recital this Saturday...I should REALLY memorize my last two songs...eeck!!

Day Nine

Day Nine: Photo of your family:

Well...this is awkward, but I don't have a picture of my family. Like...all of us together. At least, not that I know of.
But I DO have a picture with each member of my family...
So...


Daddy:

This picture was taken at Spirit West Coast :)



Mommy:

This was taken in San Diego



Jonathan:

Well this was taken at Jr. Camp! Hahaha, clearly we've just gotten a package or 3 letters and were subjected to sing a duet of "Teapot".
It was epic.
It was also "our" number. :)



Michelle:

Michelle is the one in the middle. I'm on the right, and her little sister Andrea is on the left. Michelle will be my sister-in-law this August, and I can't wait! :)

So this (in a nut shell) is my family!
And if I wasn't so tired I'd go into some more detail.
Also my roommate just yelled for me. LOL

Have a great rest of your Sunday, and an even greater week! :)

Randomness that Happens "late-ish" in the evening...

How cute is this kitchen?
And more importantly, how PERFECT is this kitchen for ME??

Just had to share.

:)

Day Seven and Day Eight

Hey there Folks!
So it happened. I missed a day.
I could hear you all weeping, but do not worry! I'm here now!
:)
Day Seven: A Photo of someone you love:



There are a lot of people I love and who mean the world to me, but my mom is one of my best friends.
Yep. Be jealous folks, my mommy is one of my best friends. :)
I have a lot of other friends who have so many problems and issues with their moms, but my mom is always on my side, my number one supporter, and encourages me with every decisions I make. :)

Day Eight: A Photo of your favorite Band/Musician
*sigh*
I'm sorry, there are too many. I'm tired, and I have a toooon of homework to do, so for the sake of MY sanity, I'm just going to list off some artists who I've been listening to lately:
Adelle
Addison Road
Ella Fitzgerald
Audrey Assad
Lecrae
BarlowGirl
Civil Wars
Francesca Battistelli
Kari Jobe

Maybe I'll post pictures later.

The reason I'm so tired is because I worked the High School Choral Festival yesterday. God smiled down on me when he placed me working with several attractive young men. Heeheehee...
Oh, and I looked really cute. Like...boots, skinny jeans, pretty top, brown belt, brown leather jacket, and YES! I had my very own radio (walkie-talkie status!) that was hooked into my jacket, and all the cool high school girls told me I looked really cute.
Moral of the story: I looked cute.
I should also mention I hadn't eaten all day, worked from 12:15-9:00ish, I was on drugs and soda, and I'm pretty sure my heart might have stopped at some point, but praise Jesus it didn't!
Cause then I wouldn't have been able to finish this! :)
Anyway, I'm feeling much better, both mentally and physically. I think the medicine is beginning to work!!

Ok. I'm going to make myself some breakfast (yes, I'm eating breakfast at 11:50 in the morning. Don't judge me.) and then I have some serious homework to do.
Oh, and I'm singing in my friend's senior recital today. So I got me a busy day today.
Why am I not stopping to go start my day?
Because I don't want to do homework.
Look who's awesome at procrastination now!

Ok.

Seriously.

.....I cannot think of anything else.

So I guess I'll go.....

Mah. :(

Day Six

A photo that makes you laugh:



Andrea being in the picture with me strikes again!
As soon as I read "a photo that makes you laugh" I INSTANTLY knew which one to use.
Andrea and I have this thing with making silly encouraging cards.
This one read something like, "We're sure glad you're on our team!"
That's not it exactly, but you get the general idea.
And really, who cares what it says, because the picture is just too funny. :)

Day Five

Day Five: A Photo of You:



And funny enough, of Andrea too! :) She is like my other half, so it's rather appropriate.
This was taken by the talented Neil from Spirit West Coast, in a van on the way to Starbucks. We were completely ambushed, and it was fun. :)
Spirit West Coast is possibly one of my favorite things EVER. I only get to see my SWC family for these few days of the year, so I treasure every minute. I have made great, great friends and extra moms, dads, aunts, uncles, and siblings.
I have laughed my hardest with these people (as obvious in the picture!) and Neil is talented enough to document it...I think this was post-snorting..hahaha
Snorting as in laughing. Not the cocaine stuff.
No thank you.

So that's it for Day Five!
I have a doctor's appointment later today, so I'll try and give everyone another update later today. :)

Day Four

A photo of the last place you went on holiday:



I consider my birthday a holiday. And for my birthday I went to the happiest place on earth!

I'd write more but I need to get going to class in a few minutes and I still gotta get my stuff together!!

:)

Day Three

A photo that makes me happy:



And this cutie here is the other little stinker I had the privilege of nanny-ing last year.
Katelyn was quite a challenge when I started. After many, many tantrums and tears, she learned that we had a lot in common. Like pink, dresses, music, dancing, Glee, and Disney princesses!! From that point on it was love. :)

Now that I'm away at school I miss them terribly. I have their pictures up in my room, pictures on my computer, and as my phone screen saver.
I never thought I could love these kids so much, and after much (much, much, MUCH!!!) debate, I can't wait to have my own kids.
Don't worry Mom and Dad, I'm not getting married and having babies anytime soon.
I just love kids, most especially James and Katelyn. :)

Day Two!

Well here it is folks!
Day Two: A photo of yourself from a year ago:



Psst! I got a secret...
I have a mondo crush on this little guy! :)
James is just one of the two adorable little tykes I had the pleasure of nanny-ing last year!
But I'll tell you more about them tomorrow....
Heeheehee...

Aren't you proud that I'm keeping on top of this challenge?? I mean, I know it's only Day 2, but I'm impressed with myself!

Update, update, and boredom!!

Ok, let me get through the boring stuff.

I went to the doctor Friday, and 1. I got a new prescription. And...eh....it's not working that great...but maybe with time. We'll see!
And on top of everything, I have bronchitis.
Ok, I don't ACTUALLY have bronchitis, but it's basically the same thing. So I have antibiotics and should be better within 10 days.
Well...now 9.

Fun news!!

I had my chapel band audition this morning! (Yes, WITH "bronchitis"!!) And it went great!
I had to sing 2 songs of different tempos and/or different genres. So I sang "The Revelation Song" and "My Redeemer Lives". I should hear back Monday!

Ok. So....
*insert awkward pause here*

Guys, I'm bored.

With my migraine there's not much I can do.
Obviously I have homework to do, but it just takes me so long to do everything, and I have to take breaks...it's really frustrating.
So what's a girl to do?
Think about new and fun things to do on her blog!! :)

So here's what I came up with...
30 Pictures in 30 days!
I don't know if I'll be able to post something everyday, but I suppose that's part of the challenge, yes??
So here goes!!

1. Your profile pictures on Facebook:





My gorgeous roommate took this picture of me in Sleeping Beauty's Walk Through in Disneyland! We were there for my birthday (http://princessaavery.blogspot.com/2011/03/birthday-escapades-part-2-disneyland.html) and this is by far my favorite picture of the day. :)

There you go lovelies. Let's see if I can keep this up!!

Update and Insight

For those of you who don’t know, I’ve been battling migraines for the last 2 years. They last for quite awhile, from 2 weeks to 4 weeks. I’ve gone to doctors, and the medicines I’ve taken haven’t really worked, at least not that we’ve been able to notice.
Last Monday I woke up with one of these migraines.
I went to the health center on campus on Tuesday and I received a shot and new medicine.
The medicine hasn’t worked as far as I can tell. It just makes me tired, but that’s not a bad thing!
If my head still hurts by Monday, I’m going to see the head doctor and he’ll point me to a neurologist.

Here’s where my insight is going to come in. ☺
Once in awhile I wonder, “Why me? God, why did You choose ME to give this pain to?”
However a very wise professor said in class last Tuesday that if you ask the “Why me?” question, you have to KEEP asking the question, like, “Why did You give me my family or friends who support me? Why did You give me a home and food?” and so on.
So, Why me? Why does He give me these migraines? Why does He give me the ability to STILL get up and go to classes (well, some of my classes at least)? Why does He give me a roommate that makes sure I’m ok and keeps it quiet in the apartment? Why does He give me a friend who hugs me and covers my ears during a LOUD chapel worship morning while I’m bawling because it hurts? Why does He give me professors who understand my pain and are willing to work with me one-on-one?
Why me?
Despite the pain, I’m still surviving. I know that God won’t give me anything more than I can handle, and apparently I can handle it, and I have faith in that.
As much as I want to stay in bed all day with the blinds closed and take my medicine and sleep all day, I don’t think that’s what God wants me to do.
So though I don’t know WHY I have these migraines, I won’t to let them stop me.

In Oratorio today we sang “Confutatis” from Mozart’s Requiem. Here is the translation:
“When the accused are confounded,
and doomed to flames of woe,
call me among the blessed.
I kneel with submissive heart,
My contrition is like ashes,
Help me in my final condition.”


So call me blessed, and here I kneel with my submissive heart.

Birthday Escapades Part 2: Disneyland!

Once upon a time, a 22-year old to-be went to Disneyland…
Ok, seriously. If anyone knows ANYTHING about me, you know that I love Disneyland.
And “love” is not a strong enough word.
So, when my roommate mentioned going to Disneyland the Sunday before my birthday, you KNOW I’m down!
I woke up early and got ready, went to Subway to get lunch/dinner, Starbucks, and picked up Deb, and we were on out way!!
We were meeting a friend of Jen’s to get Jen and Deb in for free (I have a pass) and we arrived around 10:30ish.
We went inside the park and I instantly went to go get my birthday badge! Then we went on the “Find-Deb-A-Pretzel” excursion! It actually took us awhile, and when we found one we had to wait 5 minutes for them to “open”.
While we waited we planned out afternoon, and we went to California Adventure.
We went into the Hollywood area and we ran into the Monster’s Inc parade, where the man leading the parade said happy birthday to me, and it made me SO EXCITED!!





Then we went and did Tower of Terror, Monster’s Inc., Toy Story 4-D, and California Screamin’!
After the rides I got my Sleeping Beauty crown!! It was my birthday present to me!





Then we went to spend the rest of the day in Disneyland! We had so much fun!!
I made the girls go see Captain Eo (I love it. Don’t judge me. Michael Jackson is epic). We did the Sleeping Beauty walk-through (my FAVORITE thing in the park. Ever! Just ask my parents. I made them go through it 7 times in a row as a little girl!), Indiana Jones, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, and Haunted Mansion…
Haunted Mansion. Let me tell you. First of all, my Dad loves Paul Frees (the narrator). He has the whole ride memorized. So naturally I know a great deal of it too. I never knew I had so much memorized.
Now the ride isn’t THAT scary…unless it breaks down. Twice.
The first time it wasn’t bad. I was in the room with Esmeralda (is that her name?) in the Tarot card room…the head in the glass ball? Yeah. Not too scary then, and it was only broken down for a few minutes.
The second time? Uh…ha! Yeah. That time it was shut down for awhile. AND I was in the “attic” room and I happened to be JUST next to the dead bride. I have done some research, let me share.
“Always haunting the mansion’s attic the bride is considered one of the spookiest characters in the ride’s history.”
“Constance had married – and murdered – at least five wealthy men in the late 1800s…Her ghost utters sinister variations on classic wedding vows as a gleaming hatchet materializes in her hands.”





I almost peed my pants. She’s scary.
So after THAT experience we were passing the Princess and the Frog show (have you heard of it?) that I have been wanting to see FOREVER and they were just starting! So we stopped and watched! Let me say, these people sound a LOT like the original voices from the movie.
After the show we had dinner and went on a few more rides, then did the fireworks (Jen and Deb hadn’t seen them!) and it was so much fun!
Secret: The first time I saw the fireworks (I think it was 2 years ago when they had just re-done them) I cried. Don’t judge.
So the moral of the story is that Disneyland IS the happiest place on earth, and if you think you know me, come to Disneyland with me. You will see the real me (or at least the 4-year old inside me!)





Oh, and they all lived happily ever after! <3

Birthday Escapades Part 1: Shopping with Tati

I decided in honor of my birthday I deserved a new cute top to wear on my birthday and to wear to Disneyland! So I asked Tatiana if she wouldn’t mind taking me!
So our adventure began Friday, March 4th around 11:45am.
Here was our schedule with some brief notes and explanations
11:45am: Tatiana picks me up and we drive to West Campus to grab lunch (Sam’s Subs – delicious!)
12:00pm: Lunch is ordered, we are on our way to sit down and eat when Tatiana gives me (wait for it….wait for it….) A DATE CARD!!! That’s right. Enter “The Bachelor(ette) reference(s).
“The petals may fall but our love still grows strong”
…ok I don’t remember if that was it word for word, but you get the main gist of it.
We are going to go see Beastly (Beauty and the Beast) later that night. Yay!!!!
So we eat out lunch and catch up.
12:30pm: Drive to the mall. The mall in the middle of no where. Pretty far away.
1:00pm: We get to the mall and found the bridesmaid dresses Tatiana needed to pick up then do a bit of shopping. While in that specific store I find two pairs of earrings that I like and Tatiana gets them for me for my birthday!!
We step out of the store and Tatiana asks, “Alicia, can we sit down for a minute? I want to talk to you about something.”
Um..I’m a little worried.
So we stand off to the side, and Tatiana grabs into the bag and pulls out a pair or earrings (studs of white roses) and asks, “Alicia, will you accept this rose?”
Yes!
1:00-4:30pm: Serious shopping with a minor ice cream break.
4:30pm: Leave the mall to go to the movies.
5:00pm: Buy our tickets, buy girl scout cookies, grab Starbucks
5:30pm: Beastly!!!
*Review: Weird/Random storyline. Not bad though considering what they had to follow, you know?
Acting: Terrible. NPH (Neil Patrick Harris) was great, as always. Vanessa Hudgens was better than I excepted (although considering the character she had to portray…not that difficult, right?). Alex Pettyfer: Veeery pretty, but NOT a good acting job in this movie. I’ve seen him in another movie and he did well in that movie, but not this one. A bit disappointing.
7:00pm: Out of the movie, go to car to leave.
7:01pm: Discover Tatiana doesn’t have her keys.
7:02pm: Deduce that Tatiana left her keys in the trunk after we put our girl scout cookies in the trunk.
7:05pm: Call AAA
7:10pm: Check back in the theater, crawl on our hands and knees to look under the seats. The keys are not there.
7:15pm: Go into Barnes & Noble to wait for AAA to arrive.
7:30pm: AAA gets there, able to unlock the car door, but the seats in the back don’t sit down AND we can’t find the trunk release latch.
7:31pm: Tatiana is accused of stealing a car.
7:32pm: AAA guy apologizes but says that he can’t help us and leaves.
7:33pm: Tatiana calls her parents to ask if they can find the spare key and drive to us.
*Side Note: Her parents were on a date night and had just gotten out of a movie, and hadn’t eaten dinner yet. They had to drive to their house, find the key, then drive to us. About an hour and a half total.
7:35pm: Decide if there was ever a time for us girls to go and get a drink, the time is now.
7:36pm: Walk across the parking lot and go to Chilli’s
9:00pm: Tatiana’s parents arrive and we open the car trunk and find the keys!!! Celebrate!!
9:02pm: Join Tatiana’s parents for dinner (sushi).
9:30pm: Parents done eating, we say good-bye and drive home.
9:45pm: Arrive back at my apartment.

It is a great day. I come out with two new pairs of earrings, a new top to wear to Disneyland, a black dress to wear to in my friend’s recital, and Girl Scout cookies!!
And even better, great quality time with one of my best friends. Thanks Tati, and I love you!!!

Stories and Spontaneous Rant

So I went to Performance Forum, and come to find out we have academic advising, aka juniors/senior-get-out-of-class-early-because-they’ve-done-this-enough-times-to-know-what-to-do! So the church music majors are sitting in the room, waiting for the “academic advisor” (he’s just one of the professors. He used to be in charge of the church music majors but then someone took over, but then that person left, so now we don’t quite have anyone) and as we get permission from the TA to leave, the professor comes in and tells us to stay because he has something exciting for us.
Yea. Like I’m really excited to stay in class for a little bit longer, right?
So we’re all sitting, pretty impatiently, when he walks in with a campus pastor and two other men who I’ve never seen before.
It turns out that these two men are kind of a big deal, which isn’t that surprising, because let’s face it, it’s APU, and we’re in southern California (not like I’m bragging or anything….oh….well…ok, I am!). They are record producers.
They are worship music producers.
They are British.
They are my new best friends.
And instantly my impatience goes away.
John (the head guy) told us about kinds of things they look for in song writing. He said ultimately they look for songs for the church, songs YOU write for YOUR church, and even writing for congregations for the year 2024.
He shared a story of when he was in the Amazon sharing with a local community, where he didn’t know their language and vice versa. They spent the whole time without verbal communication.
Yet as they were leaving, they heard the community singing “Heart of Worship” in their own language. He had no idea how they had come to know that song, but it’s amazing how a song can find it’s way almost anywhere.
The second story he shared was about an Indian woman who became a midwife. She was a Christian, and made it a point to ALWAYS pray for the women and the children about to be born, and by the grace of God, she never lost a woman or a child.
Not one.
How amazing is that?
When asked about her faith, she shared that she had never read a Christian book, never grew up in a church, never even owned a Bible, yet she DID know a worship song. One song. That’s it. And that song gave her faith everyday.
How incredible is that?
Unfortunately John didn’t know what the song was, but still….I was shocked. It affirms my faith in the power of music, and not just music, but worship music.
I know nowadays there is a lot of bad music out there, or even worse: mediocre music. Music that floats past that is only good, not great.
Let me point out an example: the corny “Jesus is my boyfriend” songs. Ugh.
Ok, there are songs that are great, but sometimes….ugh. They just get under my skin. What about the cross? What about His grace? Jesus isn’t for our comfort, Jesus is for our souls.
Ok. End of rant.
It shows that there are songs out there that can push a person through life and continue giving them faith everyday.

This is random, and I apologize, but my thoughts are rather scattered, and….well, my birthday is in 20 minutes and I’m watching Princess and the Frog and sitting on my couch with my Sleeping Beauty crown on.
I’m gonna go celebrate now. :)