Today was my first official day cashiering at my first job (I'm not telling where, don't come watch me). It was actually a lot easier than they make it sound in training. I'll be relieved when I finally memorize all these numbers though. People act like I'm torturing them if I have to look up the code for their dragonfruit. No really creepy guys bought condoms from me or anything. Just a whole bunch of Blue Bell ice cream and wine coolers. What else can I tell you? It's a job. It brings in the mullah and it isn't prostitution. There isn't any job where you won't ever have to deal with stupid people, so I'm not going to complain. I did have this guy ask, "Girl, you be on Facebook?" and that made me chuckle a little bit. My favorite thing about the job? Putting the WIC vouchers and checks in the machine so it can do it's little printer thingy to them! It's SO cool! All the people training with me were laughing cause I got excited, but come on! Technology man! That's cool stuff! Second favorite thing is that the register tells you the exact amount of bills and change to give back! You just have to be able to count to 10 and you're golden. It's so great!
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Thursday, May 16, 2013
The small stuff...
The little things tend to overwhelm me, sometimes in good ways and
sometimes in bad, but I'd like to focus on the good ones because I feel
like I generally take them for granted...
Thing#3's laugh when I tickle her.
Thing#2's weird thing where he has to kiss both your cheeks like he's from England.
Those hugs where you're both holding on so tight and don't want to let go. You just stand there in silence, but it feels like the moment couldn't last long enough. Especially if you're saying goodbye for however many months and I know these hugs all too well.
Perfect, 73 degree days, with small breezes interspersed, sunny, but not burning.
Windows rolled down, a song comes on at the exact moment and explains what you're feeling perfectly and you sing at the top of your lungs.
Baby animals.
Good morning text messages, especially from the boy you like.
Oversized sweat shirts that you can just hang out in and not care at all.
Sweat pants. Yes.
Driving alone, long straight-aways on a country road, night or day, just solitude.
Getting a good grade on a test that you totally thought you failed.
People liking your actual personality.
Walking alone, praying, in silence, just the wind to accompany you.
Finally peeing after you've been holding it for hours in the car.
The sound of the shutter going off. Lightning fast.
The way guys smell when they have cologne on. Oh my!
Randomly breaking out in song and your friends spontaneously joining you.
Protective friends that threaten to beat up anyone that hurts you.
Waking up in the morning to the sun coming up and everyone else being asleep.
Taking off your bra at the end of the day.
Random people asking how you're doing and waving.
Small towns. After growing up here, I think it's so cute and cool when everyone knows each other wherever you go.
Visiting places you've never been before and just being.
A long awaited reuniting.
The "I've missed you more than you could ever understand" hug.
Hating things everyone else pretends to love...
The first day wearing shorts and short sleeves after it's been cold and the first day wearing a jacket after it's been warm.
Inside jokes.
People playing with your hair.
Bed after a really strenuous day.
Naps that just fall over you.
Working for consecutive hours on stuff that really must get done, and not moving, but feeling really accomplished when you finally get everything done.
Telling someone how you really, really feel.
Getting stuff off your chest.
Losing yourself in a book and finishing it in a day.
Remembering something that you had forgotten, but that you were really trying to remember (even though it's usually a day later when you don't need to know it).
Changes for the good.
Curling your hair to make you feel like a real woman ;)
Being accidentally ditzy and people laughing at you.
People calling you "the blonde."
Instagramming your life away.
Amazing and unique hashtags.
Sweet tea (from the south, cause those crazies up north just don't understand).
Northern BBQ
Indiana. Country. The snowy Christmas days. Field after field of corn and the way it's in those rows and looks awesome when you pass by it in a car.
Old people gossiping on front porches.
Babies...Oh, how I love babies!
Sour gummy worms!!!
Popping your back when it hurts.
A/C. Oh my goodness...one of the greatest inventions ever, especially when you live in the blisteringly hot south.
Pretty handwriting.
Cute old people.
Boys that think you're funny and make you laugh too.
When you're upset and someone seriously tells you everything will be all right.
Not knowing you want to be friends with someone until they barge into your life and become your best friend on accident.
Smelling amazing.
Having literally nothing that you need to do.
Basking in the sun...I can only do this for about 2 minutes though until I just end up getting burnt to a crisp.
Kids/friends falling asleep on you.
Sleeping in someones arms.
Cuddling. Hands-down, one of the best things ever.
Thing#3 using "ask" & "tell" wrong
Doing Yoga.
Making unexpected friends.
The way my mom always knows where my phone is when I lose it, which is very frequently...
Coffee, of course...
Holding little kid's hand...(Not just random children, mind you. I prefer ones that I know and like.)
Office supplies, especially, but not limited to, amazing pens and mechanical pencils
The perfect song...
Making lists of things you love that couldn't possibly fit everything...
Thing#3's laugh when I tickle her.
Thing#2's weird thing where he has to kiss both your cheeks like he's from England.
Those hugs where you're both holding on so tight and don't want to let go. You just stand there in silence, but it feels like the moment couldn't last long enough. Especially if you're saying goodbye for however many months and I know these hugs all too well.
Perfect, 73 degree days, with small breezes interspersed, sunny, but not burning.
Windows rolled down, a song comes on at the exact moment and explains what you're feeling perfectly and you sing at the top of your lungs.
Baby animals.
Good morning text messages, especially from the boy you like.
Oversized sweat shirts that you can just hang out in and not care at all.
Sweat pants. Yes.
Driving alone, long straight-aways on a country road, night or day, just solitude.
Getting a good grade on a test that you totally thought you failed.
People liking your actual personality.
Walking alone, praying, in silence, just the wind to accompany you.
Finally peeing after you've been holding it for hours in the car.
The sound of the shutter going off. Lightning fast.
The way guys smell when they have cologne on. Oh my!
Randomly breaking out in song and your friends spontaneously joining you.
Protective friends that threaten to beat up anyone that hurts you.
Waking up in the morning to the sun coming up and everyone else being asleep.
Taking off your bra at the end of the day.
Random people asking how you're doing and waving.
Small towns. After growing up here, I think it's so cute and cool when everyone knows each other wherever you go.
Visiting places you've never been before and just being.
A long awaited reuniting.
The "I've missed you more than you could ever understand" hug.
Hating things everyone else pretends to love...
The first day wearing shorts and short sleeves after it's been cold and the first day wearing a jacket after it's been warm.
Inside jokes.
People playing with your hair.
Bed after a really strenuous day.
Naps that just fall over you.
Working for consecutive hours on stuff that really must get done, and not moving, but feeling really accomplished when you finally get everything done.
Telling someone how you really, really feel.
Getting stuff off your chest.
Losing yourself in a book and finishing it in a day.
Remembering something that you had forgotten, but that you were really trying to remember (even though it's usually a day later when you don't need to know it).
Changes for the good.
Curling your hair to make you feel like a real woman ;)
Being accidentally ditzy and people laughing at you.
People calling you "the blonde."
Instagramming your life away.
Amazing and unique hashtags.
Sweet tea (from the south, cause those crazies up north just don't understand).
Northern BBQ
Indiana. Country. The snowy Christmas days. Field after field of corn and the way it's in those rows and looks awesome when you pass by it in a car.
Old people gossiping on front porches.
Babies...Oh, how I love babies!
Sour gummy worms!!!
Popping your back when it hurts.
A/C. Oh my goodness...one of the greatest inventions ever, especially when you live in the blisteringly hot south.
Pretty handwriting.
Cute old people.
Boys that think you're funny and make you laugh too.
When you're upset and someone seriously tells you everything will be all right.
Not knowing you want to be friends with someone until they barge into your life and become your best friend on accident.
Smelling amazing.
Having literally nothing that you need to do.
Basking in the sun...I can only do this for about 2 minutes though until I just end up getting burnt to a crisp.
Kids/friends falling asleep on you.
Sleeping in someones arms.
Cuddling. Hands-down, one of the best things ever.
Thing#3 using "ask" & "tell" wrong
Doing Yoga.
Making unexpected friends.
The way my mom always knows where my phone is when I lose it, which is very frequently...
Coffee, of course...
Holding little kid's hand...(Not just random children, mind you. I prefer ones that I know and like.)
Office supplies, especially, but not limited to, amazing pens and mechanical pencils
The perfect song...
Making lists of things you love that couldn't possibly fit everything...
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Graduation just got real folks...
It's really crazy to me if I start thinking about it. My best friend
is graduating at the end of this week and I just finished my first year
of college. It feels like just the other day we were still unsure about
boys. Wait, sorry, that actually was the other day. Still though, I
remember when being freshman in highschool seemed like a big deal. Now?
I'm addressing graduation announcements. Honestly, I was never one of
those kids who just loved highschool anyway, and I love college.
However, there's a certain realness to it now that all my friends are
graduating/have graduated and, in a couple weeks, I'll be walking in a
cap and gown. It's hard/absolutely terrifying to think that we're nearly
adults. We're the next generation and that should scare most people I'm
pretty sure. We're growing up and that's crazy to me. I guess I've kind
of been dreaming of this day for so long that it's weird to think it's
finally here. There's a certain nostalgia to it all.
I'm really pretty sure I'm going to bawl my eyes out while my best friend receives her diploma. It's going to become real to me that this phase of our lives is over. Heck, it's been over for me for a year and, yet, I'm just now coming to this realization. It's not even that I just love being a teenager, because my friends will tell you I don't like it at all. Being a grown up is just scary to me...So, here we stand, on the edge of adulthood. I never thought I'd be sad about this, but it's a good kind of sad, not a I-still-want-to-be-a-child kind of sad. Just a this-has-been-really-nice-while-it-lasted kind of sad...
I'm really pretty sure I'm going to bawl my eyes out while my best friend receives her diploma. It's going to become real to me that this phase of our lives is over. Heck, it's been over for me for a year and, yet, I'm just now coming to this realization. It's not even that I just love being a teenager, because my friends will tell you I don't like it at all. Being a grown up is just scary to me...So, here we stand, on the edge of adulthood. I never thought I'd be sad about this, but it's a good kind of sad, not a I-still-want-to-be-a-child kind of sad. Just a this-has-been-really-nice-while-it-lasted kind of sad...
Monday, May 6, 2013
Not so perfect...
There comes a time in one's life when you kind of just have to let go
of trying to be/act perfect. I think, for me, I've let different parts
of my perfectionistic ways go at different times in my life. Now, I'm
not saying that I'm not still a perfectionist, because if you saw me
writing a paper or even this post, you would realize that I am. Don't
get me wrong though, there are usually clothes strewn all over my room
and I'm terrible at vacuuming, so obviously it's not everything (I just
fixed this sentence about 5 times for instance).
You may be wondering why this topic is coming up, so we'll get right to that. I dropped my GPA a little bit this semester. At first, everything inside me cringed when I realized it had dropped some. Yeah, I'm one of those people that is super concerned with her own grades. However, as I started to complain to my best friend about my seeming failure, I realized how fickle and ridiculous I was being for getting so upset about it. As I put it to her, there are people starving in other countries, and I'm living my precious American college girl lifestyle complaining about a couple of B's. It's not that grades aren't important, because they are, but I did try this semester. I'll admit I took a few too many Pinterest/Facebook breaks, but I tried and it's a lesson learned for me. I set really high standards for myself and I'm still not totally okay with the B's, but life goes on and grades get forgotten. The grades don't define me, I make them. They aren't stamped on my forehead the rest of my life thank goodness.
So, yeah, I'm that girl that gets upset over a few not-so-satisfactory-to-her grades, but God's working on me. I'm having to realize that I'm not those grades, I'm who I am in Christ and that is more ultimate than anything else. We all need to believe that more and I'm praying we do.
You may be wondering why this topic is coming up, so we'll get right to that. I dropped my GPA a little bit this semester. At first, everything inside me cringed when I realized it had dropped some. Yeah, I'm one of those people that is super concerned with her own grades. However, as I started to complain to my best friend about my seeming failure, I realized how fickle and ridiculous I was being for getting so upset about it. As I put it to her, there are people starving in other countries, and I'm living my precious American college girl lifestyle complaining about a couple of B's. It's not that grades aren't important, because they are, but I did try this semester. I'll admit I took a few too many Pinterest/Facebook breaks, but I tried and it's a lesson learned for me. I set really high standards for myself and I'm still not totally okay with the B's, but life goes on and grades get forgotten. The grades don't define me, I make them. They aren't stamped on my forehead the rest of my life thank goodness.
So, yeah, I'm that girl that gets upset over a few not-so-satisfactory-to-her grades, but God's working on me. I'm having to realize that I'm not those grades, I'm who I am in Christ and that is more ultimate than anything else. We all need to believe that more and I'm praying we do.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Me
I'm Alexandra (Ally, Ally-cat, Tbone, etc.). I was born in a little town in Indiana, consisting of about ten thousand people the last time I checked. Through various circumstances, I've come to abide in Hampton Roads Virginia, or as my great grandfather so gracefully puts it, "swampland." Personally, I think he's right and after sitting through handfuls of hurricanes and hearing about the outerbanks getting wiped out every time the wind blows, I always have to wonder why the settlers didn't just keep moving inland, but that's a discussion for another post. I live with my mom, step dad, two brothers, sister, and dog (Dad lives in Indi with his family). My mom is hilariously amazing. We have so much fun and she's smart, helpful, and caring. She seriously loves to clean way too much. I tell her it's weird, but at least our house isn't dirty. My step dad is funny and knows so much. You could ask him nearly anything and he could probably keep a conversation going with you for a while, which can be awesome, unless you're waiting on him while he's talking to someone, then it isn't so awesome haha. My siblings are all younger than me. They can get on my nerves sometimes, but I love them to death and, not meaning to brag, but they are cute if I do say so myself. My oldest younger brother, let's call him Thing#1 (to make it easier and also to spare their names on the internet), thinks I am the least fun person in the universe. Let's just say we get on each other's nerves often, but we can have a good time if we try. My other brother, Thing#2, is really entertaining and has Autism (I'm sure there will eventually be a related post). My sister, Thing#3, is adorable and funny. She is constantly saying something hilarious that my parents and I laugh about.
I was homeschooled. Although I don't understand how my poor mom made it through educating me, I'm grateful and I loved it. Now, I'm attending a local community college and just finishing up my second semester. Honestly, even though it can be ridiculous at times, I love college (even though I'm currently sitting amongst a pile of books and papers). I started driving about three months ago, which has been freeing and horrifying for my family and I at the same time. I can be really clueless at times, but I laugh at my own sillyness. For instance, it took me two months to figure out not only that I had windshield wiper fluid but also how to use it. My friends laughed, but it's not like anyone told me how and I had no reason to figure it out really (or, at least, I'm using that as my excuse). I hadn't even thought about it. Moving on, I'm a liberal arts major, but I'm planning on going on to study English and eventually Library Science. At least, that's the plan at this point, but you know how that can be.
I'm a photographer. Everything feels better with a camera in my hands. I'm not generally as adventurous as some people, but, for a picture, I can be kind of reckless (generally standing in the middle of roads). I play guitar and sing, neither of which I do very well, but I enjoy music. I love the way the right song can sum up exactly how you feel in that moment. It's kind of my outlet when I just need to breath. I'm addicted to Pinterest, Starbucks, Instagram, texting, sweet tea, and Netflix/Hulu. New Girl is my current favorite tv show, hands down. My favorite recent movie is Pitch Perfect. I've literally seen it probably 7 times now ("I'm horizontal running!"). My friends and I stay entertained by texting quotes from that movie back and forth to each other (yes, we don't have enough to do obviously). On break from school, I read all the time. Jane Austen is my favorite, of course. Can you blame me? My best friend and I have silly sleepovers where we do crazy makeup and make videos of us pretending to be superheros all around the house. I love sweatpants and I have to will myself not to wear them all the time. I generally confine my sweatpants to the house, just so I don't get any lazier. I have a lot of words that I just simply don't like, to be honest they're mostly words with sexual connotations (fornication is one, for instance). Ketchup makes almost all food better, except hot dogs. Hot dogs freak me out (so do ostriches). In fact, my parents tried to chase me around the house with them last week. Yes, apparently that is how they keep themselves entertained. I brake for birds. I save turtles and have been yelled at over a loud-horn by the police for doing so. I lose my phone or the remote once every 5 minutes minimum. All my mom ever hears is, "Mom, where's my phone?" She should start actually hiding it. Wait, maybe she does. New paranoia kicking in. I'm really protective of my family and friends. I love cute old people and I may or may not have taken a picture of one in a grocery store parking lot one day. I should probably keep that to myself... God is my rock, when everything falls apart He holds me together. I hate conflicts with other people. I'm impatient and insecure. I'm so imperfect and I'll admit that. I'm open about myself and my struggles if you just ask. I love the country. I can get overwhelmed by stress and when that happens I go on long walks with Pandora on just to clear my head.
This blog is in the works at this point and I'm still working on some ideas, but I thought maybe you could use a little (or not so little) blurb about me. Honestly, I'm pretty simple.
I was homeschooled. Although I don't understand how my poor mom made it through educating me, I'm grateful and I loved it. Now, I'm attending a local community college and just finishing up my second semester. Honestly, even though it can be ridiculous at times, I love college (even though I'm currently sitting amongst a pile of books and papers). I started driving about three months ago, which has been freeing and horrifying for my family and I at the same time. I can be really clueless at times, but I laugh at my own sillyness. For instance, it took me two months to figure out not only that I had windshield wiper fluid but also how to use it. My friends laughed, but it's not like anyone told me how and I had no reason to figure it out really (or, at least, I'm using that as my excuse). I hadn't even thought about it. Moving on, I'm a liberal arts major, but I'm planning on going on to study English and eventually Library Science. At least, that's the plan at this point, but you know how that can be.
I'm a photographer. Everything feels better with a camera in my hands. I'm not generally as adventurous as some people, but, for a picture, I can be kind of reckless (generally standing in the middle of roads). I play guitar and sing, neither of which I do very well, but I enjoy music. I love the way the right song can sum up exactly how you feel in that moment. It's kind of my outlet when I just need to breath. I'm addicted to Pinterest, Starbucks, Instagram, texting, sweet tea, and Netflix/Hulu. New Girl is my current favorite tv show, hands down. My favorite recent movie is Pitch Perfect. I've literally seen it probably 7 times now ("I'm horizontal running!"). My friends and I stay entertained by texting quotes from that movie back and forth to each other (yes, we don't have enough to do obviously). On break from school, I read all the time. Jane Austen is my favorite, of course. Can you blame me? My best friend and I have silly sleepovers where we do crazy makeup and make videos of us pretending to be superheros all around the house. I love sweatpants and I have to will myself not to wear them all the time. I generally confine my sweatpants to the house, just so I don't get any lazier. I have a lot of words that I just simply don't like, to be honest they're mostly words with sexual connotations (fornication is one, for instance). Ketchup makes almost all food better, except hot dogs. Hot dogs freak me out (so do ostriches). In fact, my parents tried to chase me around the house with them last week. Yes, apparently that is how they keep themselves entertained. I brake for birds. I save turtles and have been yelled at over a loud-horn by the police for doing so. I lose my phone or the remote once every 5 minutes minimum. All my mom ever hears is, "Mom, where's my phone?" She should start actually hiding it. Wait, maybe she does. New paranoia kicking in. I'm really protective of my family and friends. I love cute old people and I may or may not have taken a picture of one in a grocery store parking lot one day. I should probably keep that to myself... God is my rock, when everything falls apart He holds me together. I hate conflicts with other people. I'm impatient and insecure. I'm so imperfect and I'll admit that. I'm open about myself and my struggles if you just ask. I love the country. I can get overwhelmed by stress and when that happens I go on long walks with Pandora on just to clear my head.
This blog is in the works at this point and I'm still working on some ideas, but I thought maybe you could use a little (or not so little) blurb about me. Honestly, I'm pretty simple.
Monday, March 18, 2013
5 days...
It’s hard to believe that two years ago I was taking this
picture for this beautiful young lady. Smart, confident, gorgeous, with an
overflowing love for Christ as her king, she has made me smile ever since I met
her. When I took this picture, we weren’t nearly as close as we are now. Currently,
we are five days away from her wedding, of which she has bestowed the honor
upon me to be the photographer. She has been one of the calmest, most
collected, and charming brides I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing while in
the midst of planning her wedding in a 3 month span. Although she jumped many
hurdles in the process, I have yet to hear one complaint and I can only pray
that I’m as patient as her when my wedding someday approaches. I’m going to
sincerely miss this girl when she moves away with her new hubby, but I’m praying
for the best for their future. So here’s to Caitlin! (and I supposed Joe too…)
Revamping, life, blog, and heart...
Where have I been? Not that I have any followers or anything, but I have been on a kind of sabbatical just thinking over my motives behind and goals for this blog. I noticed as I read through some posts, that I'd made them all especially "put-together" and brag-y, if that makes any sense. It was kind of like I had everything together and all the answers to everything. However, that is not the case and I've realized the pride behind that implication. I don't always get stellar grades, don't spend the time I should studying, take too many Pinterest break, and very commonly have to will myself not to just wear sweatpants to class all the time, and that's just a few things on the list. I've seen the preppy, college girls with their amazing lives plastered all over blogs with spectacular (and I'm guessing very time consuming) posts and pictures and that's not what I want this to be about. I want to be real about my life and, if I'm not, I give you, as my friends, family or kind readers, permission to point that out to me. Now, let's get on with this!
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