hello again.

alright alright alright.

so, a few people have been pretty vocal about my lack of postings lately (9 months?) and i confess it quite surprised me. i had no idea that people even read this thing? other than my dear, sweet mom (hi mom!) that is. and sometimes my hubby, who said that he reads it because he likes to know what i say about him on the internets (hi hubby!). it took me a bit to make the decision to revive it even still, on account of school eating my life away again in a week (sigh) and this summer being stupidly busy (i almost spelled busty...don't look too far into that) and basically, i really want to re-read harry potter for the second time this year instead of anything else (can't wait until october! pottermore!!!). but then i realized within myself: all these people saying i should post are probably just in cahoots with my conscience because this is pretty much the only way i journal anymore (i know, for shame!) and i really really really think that i should probably really be doing that all the time since i'm like a newlywed, and how often do you get to have the kinds of adventures/learning experiences i'm having anyway? plus, i really liked reading my mom's journal from when she and my dad were all lovey dovey and such (hi mom!). if she didn't know that i did that...well she does now! (this is fun) :)

so here's a snapshot of our lives over the past 9 months in 60 seconds (or longer if you're a slow reader, but don't worry...i don't judge ;)

*christmas was indeed awesome! i don't actually remember tons about it excepting that shay got a shotgun. i remember that because that thing sounds like death and looks like death and it scared me.

*we celebrated one year of being marriaged on january 22nd! yay for us! we bopped around town and went snowboarding, and i tasted the wonderfulness that is texas roadhouse for the first time.

*spring semester of school was a beast but i killed it anyway! shay and i took our first and probably last class together (humanities through the arts). i took a lot of notes and shay made a lot of jokes. we probably only passed because we're just an awesome team like that.

*summer started off with a bang when shay got a new job (whoooo!) and we decided we no longer liked our living establishment (no snakes for me this year!). so we looked around, and found the super de duper cutest apartment (pics coming later...after i get out of my creative funk and decorate). we also visited the red rocks in moab and went river rafting, and shay chased lizards while i tookereasy. then we bought bikes and discovered that it is still the funnest thing ever to ride down the middle of the street with your friends.

*my birthday was pretty cool, shay spoiled me bunches and we had a grand old time. then the fourth of july this year was pretty much my favorite ever. except that one time when i was really little and my dad let me help him light the fireworks for the first time (kay not really little, but really littler than i am now).

*shay's parents came to stay with us for a couple weeks and we had all sorts of fun together like park city where i went on the zip line and it FREAKED me out because i'm totally scared of heights but shay was all channeling aladdin and was like "do you trust me" and i'm like "yep" so then we zoomed over the ground at crazyfastmiles/hour and i was like "that was awesome" and shay was like "i told you" and i was like "whatever i'll race you back to the top sucker" and then we hugged and it was fun.

*we sold my little black prizm (tear!) to a kid going to college and bought a black honda del sol instead (oooooo!). i love this little car but shay loves it more. he's pretty much over the moon about it. that's okay though, because i think it's pretty dang sweet too! only sometimes when we're driving people want to race us all the time (hahaaaa...that made only just enough sense). but my little black prizm will forever be the capsule to so many memories during the craziest time of my life, and was a much better first car than i gave it credit for.

*my littlest sister moved away to logan for school, two amazing friends had babies (cutest little offspring ever!), i took a cake decorating class with kami (hi kami!) and i'm pretty much a master by now, we went camping for the first time and i also went to a spa for the first time (but definitely not last time!) and many more things have happened reminding me that life just continues to move forward at a blinding pace, and i love it more every day.

that's all she wrote for now folks! until next time, in the words of my ever wise and profound canadian: don't do drugs.

Scandelous!

My last post was in April.

APRIL.

April?

April!

And the beginning of the month at that! I have no excuses. Interestingly enough, my journal usually starts off in the same way:

"I'm totally bad at writing in this thing, but I have time now so I'm going to do much better! I have so much to record and I'm sure that in a few days, I'll be totally caught up!"

Three months later...

"Oh my gosh, it's been so long since I wrote! So much has happened! I really want to be good at this journal writing thing, I think I'll finally get back into the groove this time."

A year later...

"So uh, it's been a while..."

And so on and so forth, forever and ever amen.

(I also do this with eating veggies. Aaaand exercising. And saving money. And studying, not just reading, my scriptures. Maybe all things that are virtuous, lovely, of good report, and praiseworthy? Hmmm...)

Anyway, stay tuned folks. More updates on all things adventurousish are coming soon to a blogspot near you!




You've been warned.

It's the most hectical time of the year.

I refuse to be a blog-slacker. For right now anyway.

And I warn you now, this one doesn't start out on a positive note. But read on, the frown turns upside down. I just need a venting moment.

Actually, I need five.

So here are Allison's Top Five Things to Vent About Right Now.

Ahem...

1. I hate the snow this year. I love the winter clothes, I love the way it looks falling to the ground and swirling around me, I love the way it sounds. I even love the way it smells. I cannot STAND scraping it off my windshield. I think I need to go snowboarding.

2. Mondays can go play in traffic. I always find myself craving chocolate the most on Mondays. I think my body knows it needs some extra special comfort that day to combat how lame they are.

3. Wendy's can also go play in traffic for misleading me to think that their new bacon cheeseburger was anything other than a giant jr. bacon cheeseburger with pickles and onions. Which are both gross by the way. Such a disappointment.

4. People drive kinda rudely around the holidays, and it's bothersome. Even the ones that are festive enough to put those weird little wreaths on their cars. Apparently that's where the good cheer ended.

5. My fingers never stay the same size during this time of year, and I either only noticed it this year or it's only bugged me this year. Sigh...

Now to combat that negative start, here are Allison's Top TEN Things to Love About Life Right Now.

1. Shay Petrone. 'Nuff said. :)

2. My wonderful and amazing bestest friend pretty much transformed my hair again today. I love it. :)

3. The countdown to the most important day ever is in the 40's. YAY!!!

4. Sara Bareilles, Owl City, Imogen Heap, and Michael Buble.

5. Redbox had the DVD of Julie and Julia tonight, which I have been wanting to see for for-ev-er, and it was even the day it came out! Big smiles there. :D

6. It's the nicest feeling when someone else besides you gets excited for cool things happening in your life, and you can tell they genuinely mean it. Seriously, no better way to brighten a day. :)

7. Hot chocolate with cool whip, fluffy blanket, book, and time to spare.

8. School is OUT in a week!

9. New earrings from Icing, new dress from Urban Wear, and new shoes from Forever Young. All of which completely compliment each other, and look absolutely amazing. Love those outfits you count down the days to be able to wear again. :)

10. This picture:



It was one of the first taken of Shay and I and I will probably always think of it as a favorite. It reminds me of late nights, fireflies and fireworks, Macey's cones, boating, rice crispy treats, counting the minutes until 5 o'clock, butterflies, handpicked roses, a backyard swing, beanbags, Subway sandwiches in the park, sunscreen, and bonfires. :) Best summer ever.

It's odd how venting or dejunking bunches of thoughts is all girls need sometimes. I think after days like the last three weeks, it's definitely something I've found a new level of appreciation for. This holiday season is the busiest I think I've ever had, and I know the next six weeks are going to fly past. There is an epic and/or life-changing event happening every single week until February, and who knows if it'll even stop then? Next week bridals are getting taken, then Christmas and Canada, New Year's, final prep on everything for the wedding and moving, going through the temple, and then...getting married and honeymoon. :) I wonder what it'll be like to look back on nights like this when I'm still counting down the days, when someday I'm on the other side and life has become normal again? As much as I would love each moment to fly past, I can't help but wish that they'd last a bit longer sometimes. In some ways I think it's more fun to look forward to something and let your imagination go wild about how it might be than to look back at it later when it's over and done with.

Julie has super cute slipper-sock thingers that I really want to steal, but should probably just get a pair of for myself. :) Always good to end on an ADD moment, haha!

Taking the plunge!

I have been getting comment after comment after comment about how "married" people have to have a blog...or even people in general these days...so here it is: we're taking the plunge headfirst into the blogging world! Doesn't everyone start out with a blog like this as their first one? Yay for following the crowd! :) Thank you Kami, Alyse, and Shan'tel for your most encouraging thoughts on the subject. I love you all. :)

In a way, this is kind of a much needed release...anyone that knows me well knows that I adore the written word, both my own and not. It's been a huge part of my life from the time I was little. As a toddler, my mom was spending 45+ minutes in my room before bed just for story time. By the time I was in elementary school I was spending hours of free time devouring book after book, and by the time I hit high school I was going through multiple books a week--with most of them being 400-500 pages or more. Anything less just wasn't worth reading. I was also in LOVE with the idea of creating my own world and characters in it someday...a dream I haven't given up completely yet. :) Needless to say, reading and writing have probably shaped my personality more than few other things and I'm super excited looking forward to this little adventure.

As to an update on our lives: for me, it's been school, wedding plans, work, wedding plans, showering, wedding plans, eating, wedding plans, sleeping, wedding plans, and catching up when I can with friends. Luckily I was released from my calling as the single's ward FHE leader so I have lots more time and a serious decrease in stress. It was a wonderful experience...but I'm grateful someone else gets to have it now. The semester is almost over and the days seem to last between 20 minutes and 200 hours (depending on how well the day is going of course), and there are only 65 days left before I have yet another shiny little band on my finger and introduce myself as a Petrone. :) I wonder sometimes if it's physiologically possible for a human being to spontaneously combust due to excitement....As for Shay, he's enjoying his classes in the automotive collision repair program and keeping my head on straight when it starts spinning out of control. He's probably the most perfect husband-to-be on the planet, and I'm not even saying that because I'm biased. It's just the truth. :) He's had the opportunity to DJ a few dances lately that have given him lots more experience and the fun chance just to use a talent he shows off so well. He misses his friends in Canada and the adventures to be had there (Utah's lack of nightlife and diversity still gets to him sometimes, though I try to make up for it and most of the time I succeed) but he still likes it here and seems pretty happy he came. :) I'm sure details in every area and more will surface as this thing grows - as well as more of my personality - but I think this should be good enough for the first little bite right? Right. :)