to my husband.

Through facebook, I found this blog-- http://tomywife.tumblr.com/. It's the cutest, most romantic thing in the entire world.  It's "notes to [his] future wife; things [he'll] do and things [he] won't do".  Please take 22 minutes out of your busy schedules to have your heart melt. 


I decided to make a list for my future husband. Enjoy :]


To my Husband
Sandwiches :
I'll make them for you, even when you ask me in a demanding way.
Dinner :
Will always be on the table when you come home from a long day at work.
Makeup :
Is not my favorite.  I never wear it.  Exceptions will be made for extremely rare occasions.  Hopefully, you'll think I'm beautiful without it.
Dressing Up :
Is not my schtick.  I hope you won't mind me wearing sweats and your shirts.
I have LOTS of friends :
People really like me.  They will invite me out a lot.  However, I'll decline [on most occasions] because watching football with you is better than getting all fancy and eating a too expensive salad.
Your job : 
Will pay for my shopping.
Our children :
Might possibly have tourettes.  I hope you're okay with our 8 year old swearing...
Gluten & I :
Don't get along.  I have a really bad intolerance.  So, if you want to kiss me without sending me to the toilet for hours, then you'll have to sacrifice your wheat.  You will be greatly rewarded.
Ben Folds :
Is my FAVORITE musician ever.  We will be listening to him on car rides.
Speaking of car rides... :
I'm not a fan.  If the drive is over 6 hours, we're flying. Kthnx.
Mom Jeans :
I'll never wear them.  Something about 5 mile high jeans isn't super appealing.
Cold :
Bedroom.  Massive pile of blankets.  Perfect for snuggling.
My alarm clock:
Is not my friend.  I set it 23 minutes before I have to get up so I have the pleasure of snuggling in my freezing cold room.
California :
Is the state I would love to live in.  I don't think you'll mind living in sunshine year round.
Living in the snow :
Is not an option.  We can, however, take as many ski trips as we want.
30 Rock :
& I have a date every Thursday night.  Feel free to join.
No Judgement :
Should be made when I pig out. I have fat days sometimes.
I Sing :
In the shower, the car, my bedroom, and while I'm pooping.  I'm also tone-deaf.
Hand Holding :
I'm looking forward to it.
Hugs :
I'm an excellent hugger, or so I've been told.  Reciprocate the excellence.
Compliments :
Make me smile on the inside.
I'm the best :
At cooking.  You name it, I'll cook it.  Lucky you.  
I swear :
A lot.  Learn to love it.
I am :
Extremely attractive.  See for yourself.

free people boots, a cute necklace, & interesting people.

STORY OF THE DAY :

the belt I always wear does not have enough holes in it aka it is officially to big.  SUCCESS!!!

So on Sunday I wore THE CUTEST OUTFIT KNOWN TO MANKIND -- no joke.

And then I on Wednesday I decided that I should dress up for hump day to show my appreciation for the week being half over!!!

Included in this outfit, as you can totes see, are free people boots and a cute necklace.  You can't really tell what the boots look like, but here's one fact you must understand -- I receive about 5 compliments from boys each time I wear them.  BOYS, people.  BOYS NOTICE ME AND COMPLIMENT MY BOOTS!!  Jeez, it's so cool be noticed!  The necklace was a gift from my sister, Erika.  She had that necklace and I LOVED it.  She let me wear it once and said it looked really good on me and that I could have it.  One fact that I forgot to mention : that necklace was her favorite.  That just proves that she's a FANFREAKINGTASTIC sister & I really do love her.

INTERESTING

What makes a person interesting?  Is it by the way they dress?  Their taste in music?  Their lifestyle?  Their religion?  The friends they hang out with?

To the naked eye, I may seem like a very interesting person.  I mean, I have tourettes, I carry around a 52 oz football-themed water jug everywhere I go, and I went to an all girls high school.  I HATE mainstream rap and hip-hip, I've never kissed a boy, and I go to a school where the curfew 6/7 nights of the week is 12 a.m.  Most would call that interesting; I call it a lifestyle.

I don't think I'm a very interesting person.  Yes, I can hold a conversation, complete with my opinion, and I do relatively well in school, but I'm not interesting.  When hanging out with friends, I usually don't have anything interesting to contribute to the conversation besides humor, jokes, and a swear word here and there.

To me, an interesting person is Christina.  Christina is one of my best friends who I had the opportunity of attending La Reina with.  She goes to Tisch [the film school at NYU], interned at Mosaic [a production company LA] this summer, worked at American Apparel, and usually reads up on current events.  I guess what I'm saying is that I find her interesting because she knows what she wants to do with her life -- instead of sitting in her apartment on Facebook, she goes out on the weekends and meets new people.  Whenever I'm with her, we always have something to talk about -- I'm never bored with her.  She bases her opinions on what she knows and believes, not what other people tell her is right.

I actually go back to what I said two paragraphs ago -- I am interesting.  We all hear the phrase "everyone is different in their own special way".  Maybe Barney or Mr.Rogers said that, I forgot.  My point is that everyone is interesting in their own unique way.  I'm unique because I have tourettes.  I'm different and I go to BYUIdaho and I went to an all girls school. I'm special because I just am -- I'm Ali Mahterian and I wouldn't change a thing.

these are a few of my favorite things.

Most people in my generation grew up watching Disney movies.  I was fortunate to be raised in a different way [no sarcasm].  While I've watched a lot of Disney movies, I've never seen Beauty and the Beast, Anastasia, Hunchback, and some of the "popular" Disney movies.  The movies I typically watched as a child were : The Swiss Family Robinson, The King and I, and The Sound of Music.  Those were my favorite movies as a child.  I bet most of you haven't even seen them!  I LOVED these three movies and watched them a lot with my family.


Over the Christmas break I decided that I wanted to watched The Swiss Family Robinson and The Sound of Music, because I hadn't seen them since I was in Elementary School.  While watching these movies, I actually understood what was going on!!  I told this to my mom and she just laughed.  Isn't it funny how sometimes we are so used to doing/or seeing certain things and we don't even think about the meaning of them?  When I watched The Sound of Music when I was younger, I didn't really understand exactly what was going on; I just watched it because Julie Andrews is a phenomenal actress and I love the singing.  Now as I watch it, I completely understand the entire story!!  It's a magical thing!!


Now, how am I going to compare this to weight loss?  I found out in 12th grade that I had an intolerance to gluten [also know as wheat] and dairy and I shouldn't eat them it could harm my body.  I didn't listen to this because my favorite foods included hamburgers, pizza, quesadillas, ice cream, and basically anything who copious amounts of cheese.  Tangent, I really like the word copious.  I never realized the potential harm it could have on my body until my mom told me that if i have Celiacs, eating gluten could, and will, harm my body.  Celiacs, as I understand it, is an intolerance to gluten to the extent that if you eat it, it will harm your body.  So basically, eating gluten/wheat/flour could potentially give me cancer.  I haven't been tested for Celiacs, but I do know that I have an intolerance.  If you eat gluten on a daily basis, don't freak out and stop eating flour.  Only some people are blessed [yes, blessed] with this issue.  By eating gluten, I was satisfying my cravings and not really "thinking about the meaning of [it]" [look up to the middle of paragraph two.]  Now that I understand the harm that wheat and gluten can have on my body, I can go about changing my diet so that I don't harm my body even more than i have in the past.  By cutting gluten and dairy completely out of my diet, I'm taking steps towards a healthier future.  By losing 57 pounds, I'm taking steps towards a healthier future.  By cutting calories, I'm taking steps towards a healthier future.


I hope that analogy made sense.


The title of this blog post is from The Sound of Music.  These are a few of my [random] favorite things.


romantic comedy
-- The Ugly Truth.  Yes, it's rated R but it's my favorite.  Not ashamed.
type of weather
-- Sunshine.  Beach weather.  Not Rexburg Idaho weather.
halloween costume you've worn
-- Teletubby costume.  Hands down.
breakfast cereal
-- Oh's.  Buttt, since I have been blessed with being intolerant to gluten, I can't eat them anymore.  So, my favorite cereal is the all wonderful & gluten-free friendly Peanut Butter Bumpers.
book from childhood
-- hmmm, I loved reading.  Favorite book [series] would be Captain Underpants.  Favorite actual non-chapter book would be Oh the Places You'll Go.
political figure
-- Tina Fey as Sarah Palin.
pie
-- Carmel Apple Pie with crumblie on top.  Costco pies are the best in the west.
day of the year
-- Probably my mom's birthday because I get to go above and beyond the requirements of my daily daughter duties.
genre of music
-- Anything with a killer piano [i.e. Ben Folds & Ben Folds Five].
national park
-- Not national, but Malibu Creek State Park.
foreign accent
-- Any accent is a good accent, unless you're speaking a foreign language that I don't know and can't understand.
winter olympic sport
-- The Luge.
poet
-- Oscar Wilde.
magazine/periodical
-- Cosmopolitan.  They have great fashion.
old article of clothing
-- My blue vans.  I refuse to get a new pair.
sports hero
-- Florence Griffith Joyner.  Look her up.
flower
-- A yellow & red Gerber Daisy.
mixed drink
-- I'm all about the Lava Flow [virgin, that is]
movie musical
-- Hairspray!!
vegetable
-- Sauteed spinach.
screen kiss
-- The Notebook.  Classic.
place to buy clothes
-- Anthro.  Urban.  Free People.  JCrew.  Nordies.
curse word or phrase to say
-- any of them are good if used appropriately.
unnecessary gadget of yours
-- I think all my gadgets are unnecessary.
musical 'genius'
-- Ben Folds.
schoolyard game as a child
-- Tetherball; when I didn't get hit in the nose.
music to get your grove on
-- Ke$ha.
thing about your family
-- My dog.
way to travel
-- If it's longer than 6 hours by car, I prefer to fly.
candy bar
-- mmmmm Snickers.  Recess.  100 Grand.
thing about your work
-- The kids I babysit, during the Summer, are so darn cute.
restaurant you frequently visit
-- Back home, ZPizza.  They know my order by heart.
cafe
-- Coffee Bean.  That's not a cafe though...
subject/class from high school
-- Math. Math. Math. and English with Betsy & Creative Writing with Carol.
horror movie
-- I HATE horror movies.  I don't have a favorite one because they all scare the poop out of me.
photo of yourself [describe]
-- Well there's this one picture where I'm smiling...
sport to play
-- I used to be pretty bomb at Tennis.
musical instrument
-- Piano, please.
band to see live
-- I've only seen so many bands live.  Wolfmother was fantastic.
video game
-- Mario Party.

never been kissed.

STORY OF THE DAY:
I woke up at 12:43 & it was magical.


Life is superb & I have absolutely nothing to complain about.  I'm intelligent, have impeccable fashion sense, and make people pee their pants from laughing too much.  I'm also extremely humble.  I'm always telling my girlfriends [friends that are girls] that they don't need a boy to make them happy and that if they wait, in due time, a spectacular boy will find them.  I need to start taking my own advice. 


Hi I'm ali & I've never been kissed.


Shocking or not?  Most girls who find this out are "like ohmygosh why the h town not!?" [that's my impression of a typical girl]  Ladies, it's because I've never had an opportunity!!  Not every girl out there has 7 guys wanting to date her!  I've been on 1 date, and that's because my friend knew I had never been on one.  I call it a pity date, but everyone else argues that it wasn't.  


I'm not the girl who has a pity party every 6.8 seconds about never having a boy or kiss.  In fact, I like to limit my pity parties to the silence of my freezing cold room [because I sleep with my window open while it's -4 degrees outside] after 12:26 a.m.  I usually think to myself why this lack of men is and then try to justify it in my head. 


So far my reasons are :
1] I'm too loud & they're intimidated.
2] They're in absolute shock at how gorgeous I am & they think they would never have a chance in a buzz lightyear.
3] I'm just the best friend/girl who they can talk to & get advice about other girls.


I'm thinking it's #2, as are most of you.


Again, I'm reiterating that THIS IS NOT A PITY PARTY POST.  I'M JUST TALKING [WRITING] OUT MY THOUGHTS.


In my trio of best friends, there are, as the word "trio" should have led you to believe, three of us.  There is Annie, the party ANNIEmal [that was really funny] who isn't actually a party animal.  She goes to Utard State, always keeps me updated on the new R&B/Hip Hop/Rap music, and is one of my biggest self esteem boosters. Then there's Kim, or Kimmahhhh as she likes to be referred to.  She is the hopeless romantic dreamer who will become a famous author one day.  She likes Shakespeare, booty dancing, and is always right.  Let me reiterate that she IS always right, no matter what.  Then there's me, Ali, who has tourettes, always has to be told to stop yelling, and tells stories more than 462 times.  Annie's the one who all the boys gawk over because she's pretty and perky and perfect [the 3 p's].  Lots of peeps tell her she looks like Miley Cyrus, which I still don't see.  She's had 4-7 boyfriends.  Kim & I are the hopeless romantics who 1] dream about our husbands 2] boost each others self esteem when boys are stupid.  

I don't know why I went on such a large and straight tangent [get it, because tangents are straight], but back to my point.  Annie always says [and I quote from a text message] "Good things come for those who wait for them...and you've been waiting a little longer so you have great things in store".  Annie bananie, you give the bestest advice & I love you :]


Uber cliche lesson learned from this : GOOD THINGS REALLY DO COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT.  I'm not sure what these good things will be, but I'm waiting for them to manifest itself in my life.


Hi, I'm Ali & I've never been kissed.  It might bug other girls, but I know that I'm waiting for a reason.

random words.

STORY OF THE DAY :

I went to IF with Traci and Kim yesterday.  Traci REALLY wanted the front seat, so she started running to the car even though I wasn't running.  She legit ate it and slipped on her bumbum.  It was totes worth sitting in the back seat.

I know most of you anxiously await each of every blogging posts.  First off, admirers, thank you for loving me and my blog, but mostly my blog.  Your comments make me feel even better about myself than I already feel.  That made no sense.  Basically, thanks for reading the result of my awesome & epic life.

Secondly, what should I write about in the future?  I feel like there are only so many things that I can talk about [tourettes, my weight, tourettes camp] before you peeps [not guys, because girls are reading this too] want to punch me in the face, or stop reading my blog.

Today is a day of random words :

Bras.

Speeding tickets.

Cream turtlenecks.

85 v. 33.

Georgia.

Missionaries.

NEW BRAS. I got new bras.  Male readers, skip this section.  Bras fit me; CUTE bras fit me.  I don't wear old lady full coverage ugly tan grandma bras.  I can now wear super duper cute bras from VS and not have my back fat accentuated when I wear a semi tight white shirt.  3 cheers for smaller everything!!!

SPEEDING TICKETS. Kim is a very conscientious driver.  She's been driving for almost 4 years and received her first ticket today.  The officer who gave her the ticket and was super nice and marked her down from 82 to 65.  Lesson learned : don't speed in Idaho.

CREAM TURTLENECKS. My dad, Robert, is an epic father.  He is the epitome of  selfless & generous.  He works numerous hours so that his bitches, I mean daughters, can have anything and everything they want.  He takes me shopping.  Honestly, who else's father does that?  I like shopping with him because he doesn't fool around : we'll go to a store and he'll pick out 12 things for me to try me.  If they don't look spectacular, he'll tell me. He doesn't waste time, and that's why I love shopping with him.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE shopping with Suzy, but usually it's all 3 girls yelling and screaming at each other because one wants to leave Urban Outfitters and go to Free People.  Shopping with Robert takes 40 minutes max.  Plus, he has super good fashion sense.  My father bought me a beautiful cream turtleneck from Banana Republic when we went shopping over Thanksgiving.  I wore that cream turtleneck today and looked like a million and half bucks.  See for yourself...

85 V 33. What in the shitaki mushrooms does that mean, Ali?  Well avid blog stalkers, I mean followers, it was 85 degrees in Agoura on Monday and 33 degrees in Rexburg.  It's times like these that make me question why I'm here.  Then I remember that it's because I'm a faithful and obedient daughter of God.  But 85 degrees in the middle of January?!  I guess I'm missing the sunshine even harder because it wasn't sunny during Christmas OR Thanksgiving break!! When I went home last December for Christmas, my mom commented on how white I was.  Side note, I'm Armenian [unless you couldn't figure that out by my last name] so I'm naturally tan and beautiful.  This lack of sunshine and vitamin D is starting to make me wish April came faster.  At the same time, I'm wanting to slow this semester down because I have unbelievable roommates, amazing classes, and fantabulous friends.  Life is sometimes so contradictory.

GEORGIA.  I know I semi promised not to talk about tourettes for a while, BUTTTT drum roll please... TOURETTES CAMP APPLICATIONS CAME OUT YESTERDAY!!! aka they're already posted o the internet and I filled it out last night instead of working on my Ethics paper [Mom, the paper got done-- I promise]  On July 2, hopefully, I will be on a plane to Georgia to spend 6 days with my Twitch and Shout family.  A week full of crazy tics, celiac cereal, warm rain, white balloons, and my East Coast friends is only 162 days away.  I definitely don't have a calendar where I cross off each day and have TOURETTES CAMP in huge letters taking up the entire month of July...

MISSIONARIES. Preface : my sunday school class/group of church friends/seminary class consisted of 2 girls and 8 boys.  Most of them are on missions now and it's an interesting phenomenon : 19 year old boys giving up 2 years of a normal lifestyle to preach the word of God.  My friend Brian leaves next Wednesday to Mexico [he'll spend 9 weeks in the MTC before].  I was skyping with him and I asked him how he felt about leaving and he said it's sad that this part of his life is over but he's so ready.  It's like the coming of age for Mormons.  Jews get fancy schmancy Bar Matizvah's and receive thousands of dollars as presents.  Catholics have confirmation and get oil on their forehead.  Mormons get called to a random state or country, leave behind their loved ones, pay to serve the Lord [living arrangements & such] and get doors slammed in their faces 20/6 [they don't do it on Sunday's].  Now that's dedication.

I'm sorry I haven't written in a while.  Between my Ethics & Accounting classes, I'm spending way too much time thinking.  

Last thought.  Don't you LOVE writing a paper on a subject you don't completely understand? Advice for today : don't take a 300 level Ethics class as your first Philosophy class.

"I appreciate people like you who appreciate people like me" <--- my thoughts towards EVERY SINGLE PERSON reading this.

I never thought that...

... I would lose 50+ pounds.  I don't think ANYONE thought I would/could do it, for that matter.

... I would actually be living with Kim.  Kim is one of my best friends and we're very different.  I [think I] get on her nerves 89.5% of the time, and yet she still agreed to live with me.  I love it.

... I would be prom queen.  Yes, I did graduate in '09.  Yes, I'm aware that I'm a Sophomore in College.  Yes, I'm still reliving my glory days.  Senior year in high school I wanted 2 things -- to be prom queen and to be voted class clown.  I never, in 100259872389572 years, thought that I would get one of those honors, let alone both.  Ladies and gentes, you are reading the blog of the 2009 La Reina High School prom queen AND class clown. 

... I would get an A in Business Law.  Okay, it's an A-, but we're not counting the minus.  Last semester, Fall 2010, I took B275 aka Business Law.  The first day of that class, I was so lost and confused; I even contemplated dropping the class.  Approximately 14 weeks later, I finished the class with an A.  Holy crapola.  

... I could last 3 weeks without eating gluten & dairy.  I haven't [deliberately] eaten gluten or dairy since June 29, 2010.  I think that's like 202 days, but I definitely didn't just use the calculator on my phone to check.

... Tourettes camp would change my life. My mom kept pestering me to fill out the volunteer form for months, and finally I did.  Mom, you're the person I owe this experience to. Camp Twitch & Shout, aka the Tourettes camp most of you have heard about,  was THE BEST WEEK OF MY LIFE.  I know everyone says that about every camp experience they have, but seriously.  Imagine a camp you can go to where 95% of the people have tourettes and no one judges you.  Imagine being able to tic without having to explain yourself to others.  Imagine adopting tics from your peers -- trust me, it happened coughcoughcalebcoughcough.  Tourettes camp is the one week during the entire year where kids with tourettes can go and be themselves.  Most of these kids go to schools where they're the only ones with TS; they are judged and made fun of constantly by their peers.  At camp, no one judges you!  You can be yourself!  I know this sounds way over-exaggerated to most of you, but you have no idea what it's like.  Oh, and the people I met there helped make it even more fantastic :]

... I would be the girl obsessing about her looks.  Most of you who knew me growing up know that I love comfort -- my ideal outfit would be my baggy sweatpants and a white v-neck.  If I could wear that every day, I would.  Now that I've lost the weight of a kindergardener, I can fit into clothes.  Cute clothes, I might add.  For my 4 years of high school, I wore a uniform, so I never had to worry about picking out an outfit each morning before school.  Now that I'm in college, I actually have to pick out an outfit.  Let me tell you, it's hard.  The new Ali now wakes up 70 MINUTES before class to pick out her outfit [well, 30 of those minutes are spent laying in bed trying to wake up] and actually looks cute.  I've included some of my adorable outfits for all ya'll to see [that ya'll was for my roomie Sarah from North Carolina]  Now, I'm not one of those girls who takes pictures in the mirror; I DESPISE those girls.  That being said, I ask my friends to take them for me.  I have some in the bathroom, my classroom, my hallway, and one day I was super desperate, so I took a mirror pic.  I know, I know, I'm doing the sign of the cross right now in hopes of being forgiven.

"Accept everything about yourself.  I mean everything.  You are you, and that is the beginning and the end.  No apologies, no regrets"

-- Clark Montanas

the good and the bad.

Twenty-ten has come and gone; Crazy how time flies.  After reading this on a friends blog, I decided to reminisce on the past year and think about the good and the bad.

My 2010 :

January 

            

        ● Road tripped up to Idaho with my BFF, Kim Turley

        ● Had a crazy roommate, but learned the virtue of patience

        ● Loneliness

        ● 9:00 church, again

        ● Introduced to Hastings by Cass & Stephie

        ● Met some great people and finally had some friends

        ● Started working out

        ● American Foundations = worst class ever

       

February

        ● Night Class from 7-10 on Tuesday 

        ● Sleeping 13-15 hours a day

        ● Valentines Day with Kimmy & Annie in Logan

        ● Inheriting a new roommate

        ● Freshman 30

        ● Ticing too much

        ● Boys who speak their mind

        ● Snowball fight with the sluts upstairs

        ● Crazy roommate has had 2 boyfriends

       

March

        ● First date ever 

        ● Chocolate Matzo making 

        ● Crazy roommate gets "engaged"

        ● Mario Party with Kimmy

        ● Broulim's $5 pizza

        ● BRC's Custard

        ● Lots of skyping with Kenzie

        ● New roommate moves out

        ● 5 year old crazy Brian

        ● Bye bye scale

      

April

        ● D+ in Econ

        ● Home sweet home

        ● "dieting"

        ● 1 time babysitting gig turns into Summer job 

        ● Applying & Rejection from Anthropolgie

        ● Single's ward

        ● Good food & overeating

        ● Sister turns 1 year older      

        ● Spring Break 2010 with Stephie

        ● Venice Beach

   

May

        ● Annie comes home

        ● Cute  boys in the ward

        ● Ben Folds Concert

        ● Confusion

        ● More babysitting

        ● Money, money, & more money

        ● Still large

        ● First boy from the group leaves on his mission

        ● Boycotting shopping because I can't fit in any clothes

        ● Parents 20th Wedding Anniversary

June

        ● Friends come home from college

        ● Accepted as a volunteer for Tourette's camp

        ● Purchased a plane ticket to Georgia

        ● Other sister celebrates her 17th birthday

        ● Still driving her everywhere she desires

        ● Tanning

        ● Excitement

        ● XXL shorts

        ● Board a plane to Georgia & start the best week ever

July

        ● Humidity & warm rain

        ● Camp Twitch and Shout 2010

        ● 9 11 year old boys + 3 girls

        ● Lots of ticing

        ● White balloons

        ● Tears -- lots of them

        ● Losing 10 pounds in 1 week

        ● Gluten & dairy free from now on

        ● Lake Powell with the Turley's 

August

        ● Cousin gets married

        ● -20 pounds

        ● Reading for hours

        ● Hawaii

        ● Getting tan

        ● First time zip-lining

        ● Cutting off 12 inches of my hair

        ● Goodbye California

        ● Loving life

September

        ● Roadtrippin with Kenzie

        ● New apartment, new roomies, new ward

        ● Hello Rexburger

        ● New Ollie

        ● My own room

        ● Upper level classes

        ● Not-so-little

        ● Hipsters

        ● Activities Committee member

        ● Getting involved

        ● Utard for Annie's birthday

October

  

        ● Skype dates

        ● -38 pounds

        ● First A on a test in college

        ● Gluten free pizza

        ● New Ben Folds album

        ● Aunt Christel & Grandma Joan visit

        ● Birthdays & more birthdays

        ● Another teletubbie Halloweener, this time with a partner

November

        ● Straight hair

        ● Changing meds

        ● Happiest i've been in a long time

        ● Ali turns 19 and celebrates with Annie 

        ● Cupcakes, bumblebees, & packages from home

        ● -50 pounds = best birthday present ever

        ● Thanksgiving break

        ● First gluten & dairy free Thanksgiving

        ● Family is forever

        ● Writing Missionaries

        

December

        ● Finals & drama

        ● So high-school

        ● 3 different Josh's

        ● Learning to live with what you are

        ● Snow driving and almost not dying

        ● Christmas break in the rain

        ● Shopping & more shopping

        ● Little party with people I love

        ● Realizations

        ● New Years with people I'm obsessed with

I like relating experiences to specific songs.  This year can be summed up with one line from one song : "You got to learn to live with what you are"

Fat girl Ali left the world on June 29, 2010 and now, on January 15, 2011, has emerged a new girl - the [skinny] girl she always knew she was.  She may still have tourette's and talk too much, but she is a different girl, in more ways than one.

a new week has come

Ten reasons why today is awesome.


1] I'm still laughing from my clever title [think Celine Dion]


2] Rexburg, Idaho is freezing.  Why do I go to school in Idaho?  You would too if school cost less than $9,000 a year.  Cheap school = happy daddy.


3] Accounting homework is so darn hard.  I still can't figure out how to find the stockholders' equity & common stock on a balance sheet.  Despite this issue, there's a really cute boy in class :]


4] I might possibly get to see Annie, my best friend forever, this weekend.


5] I have freakin awesome roommates who love me, even though I spill blue nail polish on our carpet.


6] I've lost 5 pounds since I've been up at school.


7] I FINALLY fit into my super super skinny jeans from 10th grade.


8] I need a belt to keep them up.


9] I'm healthy & semi attractive [okay, so gosh dang attractive]


10] I am the happiest I've been in months.  Maybe years.


Life is awesome.

i remember

You guys should know that I never, and i repeat NEVER, tell anyone about my weight.  My own dad doesn't even have the privilege of knowing, unless he threatens to take away my car if I don't tell him. 

 My weight has been an issue my entire life.  Very few people knew how much I weighed at my heaviest.  Now, the whole internet knows that I weighed 212 pounds at one point in my life.  The funny thing is, it was just 6 months ago that I was an obese individual.  Darling, I was a BIG girl. Sad thing is, I didn't even realize it until now, when I look back on pictures.

Like I said before, weight has been an issue for my entire life.  Random memories pop into my head at random times.  I remember so many different things.

I remember :

1] In Elementary school, I would eat other peoples lunches that they didn't want.  If my friends had a bag of chips that they didn't want, I would inhale it with gusto [big words make me look/sound/feel smart]

2] In 5th grade, we had a big physical education test, comprised of many different components.  We had to run the mile, do pull ups/pull ups/sit ups, and my favorite part, weigh ourselves.  I had known I was above average for a fifth grader, so I was extremely nervous for this part.  We all stood in line and Mrs. Stewart, the PE teacher, pulled us over one by one and  had us stand on a scale.  When my turn rolled around, I was scared.  When I stepped on the scale, it read 110 pounds.  110 pounds.  In 5th grade.  At 4 feet 6 inches, I weighed 110 pounds.  Holy hell.

3] Also in 5th grade, at the end of the semester, we had a big graduation party.  All the girls got new outfits and dressed to impressed.  Since I was a girl, and I still am, I wanted to get a new outfit.  My mom and I went to the mall to try to find outfits.  Somehow we ended up at American Eagle.  I found a super cute skirt, and I tried it on.  I remember that the skirt was a size 4.  I didn't know what that meant, but I knew it wasn't great.  A size 4.  110 pounds.  In 5th grade.   At 4 feet 6 inches, I weighed 110 pounds and wore a size 4 skirt.  Mothereffer.  

4] Sneaking money to buy food.  My dad always had a change jar and every morning before school, I would sneak as many quarters as I could.  In Middle School, I would buy donuts and ice cream and french fries and pizza.  Whatever my little heart desired, I bought it.  I would always eat my lunch [turkey sandwich on brown bread, fruit/vegetable, 1 cookie] really fast and then buy more fattening food.  I continued this routine all the way into high school.  My school had REALLY good french toast sticks.  I would buy some every morning I could.  Donuts, cookies [La Reina had the BEST cookies], ice cream, more ice cream, main entrees.  Whatever I had money for, I bought.  No food could quench my hunger.

5] Eating copious amounts of food while my mom was gone.  Every time my mom went to the grocery store, or to run errands, I would eat.  I had a routine all worked out : As soon as I heard the garage door close, I would get out the bread, turkey, cheese, and mayonnaise to make a panini.  I would get 3 corn tortillas and 4 ounces of cheese out to make a quesadilla.  I would eat ice cream.  I would go into my family's food storage and take whatever I wanted.  The trick was to only take a little, so that it wouldn't look like anything was missing.  I would never take the last piece of pizza, or the last bite of pie, because then people would know.

I'm not embarrassed to tell these stories now.  I mean, yea, it's painful to remember, but what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.  Except obesity.  

Whenever I see people I haven't seen in over 6 months, they always comment on how happy I look.  They say "Ali, you were always happy before, but now I can see that you really mean it"

And here's my first recipe!! Whenever people see me make food, they're like ohmygosh Ali, that looks amazing!! Let me have the recipe!!! Well peeps, here's the first recipe of many.

AMAZING BREAKFAST QUESADILLA [UNDER 500 CALORIES]

Ingredients :

1 brown rice tortilla [you can use a flour tortilla, but since I have celiacs, I can't have flour.  Brown rice tortillas are available from Trader Joe's]

1 egg + 1 egg white [fun fact.  1 egg has approximately 80% of your daily cholesterol.  The yolk is mostly fat, which makes the cholesterol high.  Egg whites have very little cholesterol, so have 1 egg and as many egg whites as your hearts desires]

1/2 [or 1 whole] sausage [ Aidells brand]  My favorite are the Chicken & Apple or Mango.

1 ounce of soy cheese [or any cheese]

Optional : 

Avocado

Salsa

Directions :

1] Put a small frying pan on the stove on Medium.  Put a large frying pan [or griddle] on Medium Low 

2] Put the tortilla in the large pan and let it start to brown [I like my tortillas crispy, but it's all about your preference]

3] Cut the sausage into bite size pieces and put them in the small pan.  They're pre-cooked, but let them get warm and tender [right word? I don't think so]

4] As soon as the sausage is perfect [1-2 minutes], crack your eggs and start scrambling.  Because the pan is hot from the sausage cooking, it will be easy.  Scramble the eggs and sausage together

5] Meanwhile, the tortilla should be semi-brown.  Sprinkle your cheese evenly on the tortilla and turn down to Low

6] When the eggs & sausage are done, and the cheese has melted, dig in!  You may add some avocado or salsa.  

ENJOY YOUR HEALTHY BREAKFAST

I was an emotional eater.  Now I eat because I'm actually hungry.  That's my food for thought.

By the way, this is mom.  She's my #1 fan and super gorgeous.  I look forward to growing up and getting even more good looking.  Thumbs up if you're in love with Suzy!