Fun Photoshoot in Old Town Leesburg :D

One of my younger brothers friends is an aspiring photographer and had asked me a while ago if I'd be interested in doing a photoshoot with her; uhhh DUH!
We got together one day and headed to Old Town Leesburg and spent a few hours looking around and having fun! Here are some pics from our good time :)


ALSO NEW HAIRCUT :)

Somebody Special has a BIRTHDAY today (meaning june 20th because it's 12:30am here...)!!!

Hey guess what?
It's this girls birthday:
(on the left...)


Happy happy birthday katie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WOOT WOOT!
Check out her awesome blog HERE!

Why yes, It is possible for me to be CRAFTY!!!!

So thanks to THIS wonderful blog, I have had the urge to make some really cute clothes this summer!
And so I finally began yesterday :)
I first made a shirt using THIS post and then made some jeans of mine into skinnies using THIS post! (There is also a post with a video tutorial of fixing jeans)I love them!!!!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Next I plan on making THIS and THIS :)
Oh the joys of not spending a lot of money and making cute clothes!

to ALL my friends i've made in my life

This is a sappy sentimental song, I know. But I love it and it really is how I feel :)

our beautiful world...

The Mountain from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.

PLEASE WATCH AND SPREAD.

My friend and I signed this for one of my class finals. Please watch it multiple times and spread it to all your friends, we want to go VIRAL!!!

Enjoy :)

WATCH ME

(i put the link there because we want lots and lots of hits and they only count if you actually GO to the youtube page!)

'tis the end

It's now getting close to the end of the semester. The end of my freshman year of college at BYU.
How weird is that? Very.
Classes are starting to wind down and start preparing for finals. Here is a rundown of how I think my finals will go:

ASL 101 - EASY. This whole class has been pretty easy and straightforward for me so I don't think the final will be hard.

REL 122 (BOM part II) - okay... I have to admit I do not like being tested on my knowledge of the Book of Mormon but I'm too terrible at it, just not my strong-point.

PdBio 220 LAB - okay/pretty good. As long as I study at open lab during the week, I should be fine.

PdBio 220 LECTURE - ehh. Anatomy lecture has definitely not been my strong point this semester. But I have made a few friends in class who I will study with and they will help me do better!

Dance 164 - not even sure If we have a final... and if we do, it can't be too hard :)

COMD 133 (Intro to Communication Disorders) - ehh. This class has been my least favorite this semester. But I definitely don't think I will/can fail the final for this class.

Student Development 110 - EASY. This class has been a definite help in all my other classes and I have seriously learned SO MUCH. And the final is going to be really easy, probably just a poster or little project. yayay!

MUSIC 160R (singing lessons) - REALLY GOOD. Last week my teacher gave me a standing ovation in lessons after singing one of my songs :) I think I'll be okay on my final, and I really am LOVING lessons!


So those are my finals. Overall I would say I'm doing pretty great this semester! I am definitely much happier and more proud of myself than my first semester!!

Also, I am trying to figure out my new direction (as in choosing a new major) and I may have found one... but I'm not telling anyone yet until I talk to my career adviser and talk it out with her :) But I think it will make me happy!

Thank you all for you support, especially my parentals :)

LOVE YOU ALL!

-ali

Landslide

happy wednesday :)

Casting Crowns

Ever heard of this group?
They are seriously phenomenal, I first heard them on the radio station 91.9 wgts (one of the best) back home and they are what I listen to on Sundays.
Though they are a Christian rock group, their songs are really touching and wonderful!




Even if you don't usually listen to this type of music, I challenge and recommend you listen to it and take in the words and meanings :)

Bikram Yoga

How does sitting in a room 105 degrees sound?
Now imagine working out in that room.
And as in work out I mean YOGA!

This is what is called Bikram Yoga.
Sounds pretty interesting, huh?


In my Dance 164 (Movement for Musicians) class we have just started a Yoga section and boy do my muscles hurt!
We start class by first doing some simple leg, arm, and body stretches.
Then we continue on to push ups. Many many push ups. And we do them with our hands in different positions so they work ALL the muscles in our arms; so so so painful.
After those we do the 2 warrior poses and then end on the floor with the "dead man's pose", which is extremely relaxing!
I never knew Yoga could be so difficult and painful! But I definitely feel my muscles getting stronger already! It's fantastic!!

The Big 17.

Today is a momentous day. Not only because it's March 1st or because it's Monday, but because it's JUSTIN BIEBER'S 17th BIRTHDAY!

whoop whoop!

Youtube Repeat

Have you ever been listening to a song you really love on Youtube but every time it ends you have to go back to the video and click "Replay"?? So obnoxious.

Well, I have a solution for YOU!

1st, go to the Youtube page of the song.

Now go up to the URL

After the "youtube" part of "youtube.com", type in the word "repeat"


FOR EXAMPLE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D-tGqIWMU8

then becomes....

http://www.youtuberepeat.com/watch?v=1D-tGqIWMU8 (but don't bold it..)


And it will just repeat the song over and over and over again! Which is the way I love to listen to new songs :)

Current favorite songs are:







(I am actually singing this song for singing lessons! It's so beautiful!!)

Single Awareness Day

aka Valentines Day <3

I've never been a huge fan or dire hater of Valentines Day, basically I'm Switzerland when it comes to this holiday of love.
But tomorrow I and some of my friends have decided to watch a nice horror movie to celebrate this fantastic day of love! What better way than to get the bejeezers scared out of you with your best friends?? I can't think of one...

Here are some songs to improve your wonderful day!











HAPPY DAY OF LOVE!

The Brain

This week in Anatomy lab we learned about the brain and spinal column.
I even held a brain! And let me tell you folks, it was AWESOME. The brain is so extremely detailed and intricate and strangely beautiful!
My favorite part would be the arbor vitae which means "tree life" and the part actually looks like the tree of life!!

isn't that awesome?!

Another really cool part of lab this week is that they had a mid-sagittal (directly in middle) cut of a head with the face and brain all still attached, just halved! So we were able to see clearly how all the skull foramen (holes) and pieces all fit together and worked with the brain! I was literally sitting there with my jaw dropped in awe and gasping, it was probably one of the coolest things I have seen EVER.

ALSO, in my Anatomy lecture last night we were discussing the different lobes of the brain (frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal, insula) and the topic of lobotomy's came up! And so we discussed that and after class one of the TA's had a video for those who wanted to stay and watch. Of course I did! And it was seriously crazy to see how they did lobotomy's back in the day, literally take ice picks from the freezer and jab them through your orbital fissure behind your eyeball and then mess around with your frontal lobe. The purpose of lobotomy's was to attempt to change personalities and many prisoners had them done in exchange for an early parole because they were so dangerous!


Here is the video we watched in class! It was shown on PBS so it's not too bad but it was rate TV-14, so BEWARE! :)

Hopefully this post doesn't creep anyone out but honestly, it is amazing how something made up of tissue and... "goo" can create memories and store so much information!

Yay for Anatomy! :)

peace out.

BFF Photoshoot :)

For Christmas I got my best friend, we'll call her Foy, a GREAT gift! I bought her a photoshoot with another friend :) And I didn't tell her until the night before so it was kinda a surpise!
So here are some photos from that day!!




happy happy :)

FOR MORE LOOK HERE

When Elmo is actually Alma

Take a moment and remember back to those days stake dances... dancing a slow dance with a cute guy, talking about you and your family when suddenly the music gets REALLY REALLY loud and you're practically shouting to each other. And then a question comes up that you didn't quite hear and you don't wanna say "HUHH????" so you simply nod and smile. Awkward....

These experiences basically describe my social life.

I am losing my hearing slowly (probably because I love to blast it, even as a cute little girl) but I hate admitting it. I simply love my music loud and no "hearing loss" is gonna make me change that! I also can't stand not having a song in my head or music playing. Complete quiet drives me BONKERS. (for example, right now I'm listening to "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles)

Alright so about Elmo,
Last week I called my new singing teacher about setting up a lesson time. She was super sweet and all that and was telling me what to bring to class and mentioned the "Elmo" lab in the HFAC. She explained how you can go there and play the piano and record what you play and get a CD burned for you. Pretty cool eh? So on my paper I was taking notes on I wrote down "elmo lab in hfac". Interesting name, I thought, but whatever.
Well lesson time comes around (yesterday - went GREAT by the way) and she mentions it again! But she also wrote it down on the paper she was taking notes on: "Alma Lab HFAC"... aw shoot... well I for sure wasn't gonna mention that to her!

All in all, don't be afraid to be wrong. MISTAKES MAKE YOU STRONGER!!!
:)

and by the way, i am LOVING all my classes so far - and i'm on top of my work and sleep (mom!)

Winter semester classes

So THIS is my schedule for this Winter semester!
If you have any advice on classes, leave a comment!

YAY FOR SCHOOL!!!!