looking back

2o12.

what a year it was.

i'd have to say this year was one of the biggest turning points in my life.

i learned a lot of new things about myself

some lessons i learned the hard way, but still, i am glad i learned them

they have all shown me different things about who i am

i had 2o12 all planned out,

and none of it happened the way i thought, and i am so glad it didn't

 2o13.

a new start for things to change.

a new chance to be who you want to be and do things you want to do

i have lots of high hopes for this upcoming year

christmas

this post is a few days late, but better late then never.

christmas was a little different this year.

i had to work christmas eve.

jenna and tayten weren't there.

this was the first year i had my boyfriend over.

we had brinley.

and it was also my first christmas i have spent with my brothers.

even with all the changes it was one of the best ones yet.

christmas eve:

i got off work about 4 

it was snowing really hard so i made my brothers come pick me up and of course they hadn't gotten anyone presents yet so we ran to wal mart to get their gifts.

after that we went up to my moms.

if anyone knows my mom, than you know she does everything over and beyond

her house is amazing at christmas (picture below)

we had brinley this year and it was so fun

we ate dinner

and then it was time to open gifts.

brinley was so cute.

she now has an excited face so she would open something, make her face, and giggle.

we were spoiled of course.

dar got me an amazing new stereo for my car

(much needed)

mom went all out and got me lots of cute new clothes

it was so fun to spend time with the people who mean the most to me.

after presents we played a few games, and by a few i mean we were up till 230 playing games.

christmas:

my mom woke me up at 7 to help her make the traditional casserole

i wasn't having it

so i played sleep and didn't get up

but then the excitement of christmas kicked in and i couldn't sleep

i went and woke up dar who had to sleep in taytens toddler bed (such a good sport)

then we went downstairs to finish helping my mom.

while we were sitting there we heard the door open and a voice yell "surprise"

we turned and tayten was standing there

he was so ready for presents.

he ran down and woke up his uncles

and attached his presents.

after we saw what santa brought us we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast

and just spent a little bit of time being lazy.

we then headed out to my dads&tiffs

opened up our gifts, and just spent time together.

and had another amazing meal.

over all it was such a great few days.

i hope everyone had a great holiday!

Tay&Brin with santa$mrs.clause at their school  carnival

brinner got a cell phone

brinners new 4-wheeler

christmas morning

my moms house is so pretty

iphone dump

long posts are always lame.

pictures however are awesome.

so here is a catch up on my life through the lens of my phone.

This guy is amazing! :)

Last weekend we spend the day in Salt Lake doing some Christmas shopping, and ended the night
looking at the temple square lights. So beautiful!

This little guy is turning into quite a handsome kid!

Adorable right?! In the top picture we matched so of  course we needed to document it . And the bottom
one was Sunday, I was trying to wrap presents and she thought they were for her.
So she sat down and I pulled out my phone and thats the face I got. Love her!!

Watching "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" with Dars nieces&nephews

Date night last week!
Mine-left Dars-right...and needs some serious  help

this has to be the funnest time of year.

and i've been soaking it all up

now that most of the christmas shopping is done it allows me to enjoy it that much more.

poor dar i've made him do every christmas activity with me

and we still have more to come.

he is such a great sport.

i can't wait till christmas this year for everyone to open their gifts.

its fun to get old and be the one giving out the gifts rather than receiving.

especially with the little ones 

its so fun to do all the santa activities with them.

to-dos

is there anyone else who feels like the list of to-dos

just keeps growing?

goodness.

lately it seems like i get one thing done and 5 get added.

i've always been the type of person who makes a list of everything.

i love being able to see what i need to do and getting it done,

but now...

its just a reminder that i haven't done anything.

there are things on there that have been there for about 2 weeks now.

failure?

little bit.

theres just so many other things i would rather be doing than

-cleaning the bathroom

-doing the dishes

-vacuuming the apartment

-dusting

i mean come on..who wants to do that when you can

-go on a motorcycle ride

-play with the niece&nephew

-go shopping

-or hey how about just doing nothing

i guess this week i will buckle down and finally get some of my things done.

heres to having a productive week!

happy monday!

to soon?

is it to soon to be as excited as i am for christmas?

cause i am past excited.

i feel like i might be more excited than my 5 year old nephew.

i think the countdown on my phone may be just a bit much but hey i dont care.

my favorite part of the holidays is all of the traditions.

a few of my favorite traditions are:

-white christmas & decorating my moms tree

-sugar cookie decorating at my dads

-the nativity scene about the fireplace

-temple square lights

-a new christmas book to read on christmas eve

-christmas even pajamas

-gingerbread houses

-driving around looking at lights

-the tables my mom sets up with her different snowman&trees

-listening to christmas music

i am excited to do a few new things this year:

-going to idaho with dar to cut down a tree

-decorating my apartment

-movie night & treats

-making lots and lots and lots of christmas treats

-angel tree with the family

-holiday crafts

-sharing traditions with brin and tay

there will be many posts in the next month about all of these things

so i hope you're ready for some christmas cheer

m.i.a

yes i went m.i.a 

again

seems to be a reoccurring problem with me & this blog

i sit here and think of all the things i should post

and then

life happens and before you know it its a new day

i will try and be better

smallish update:

the day before thanksgiving my brother trae had brain surgery

talk about nervous.

about a month ago he broke his nose in a soccer game which jammed everything up into his face

causing a lot of infection

well, for the next 2 weeks he had a constant headache, was blacking out, couldn't remember converstations he was having with people, how he got home or anything

so my mom had him go see a doctor

within 2 hours he had a ct scan, mri, and was meeting with a neurosurgant

they were worried that he had a brain tumor and had triggered with the face trama

he was put on steroids in hopes to drain all the infection in his face.

didnt work.

so then it was surgery

all day i was worried about him

then my mom called me and said everything was great.

no tumor.

that was the biggest relief.

he went home that night and was feeling lots better the next day

thanksgiving:

after the surgery the allison family had a lot to be thankful for

i woke up to a message from my mom saying she made breakfast casserole (tradition)

i picked up bryce and we headed to my moms

after a little breakfast

we got trae and headed to my dads for dinner

it was so fun to just be with family without the worry of trae

we ate lots.

and lots..and lots.

after a few hours there we headed back to my moms

there we had pie, and played some games.

i had a lot to be thankful for this year and it was to go reflect on it all

my friend janece came home for a short little visit

to surprise her family

she told me a few weeks earlier that she was going to be coming

it was the hardest time keeping it off facebook

but i did it.

it was good to see her and catch up

on sunday it was my roommates jenzus farewell

talk about an amazing girl

i haven't known her that long

in fact we didnt become friends till i moved in 

but i am glad to call her on of my good friends now

i know this isn't a super fun post but now that we are all caught up let the fun begin! 

its here again..

monday.

blah right?

it sure seems like the week goes by super slow

and the weekend just flys by.

i think we should only work 2 days

and have a 5 day weekend.

anyone else wanna jump on the bandwagon with me?

my weekend was AMAZING

it involved:

-a broken closet

-building a dresser

-4 trips to lows&home depot 

remember: measure twice, cut once ;)

-deep cleaning

-roomie bonding

-meeting new people

( if you follow me on twitter then you saw the messages.. :) )

-staying up all night

-spending time with my baby brin

-enjoying life

for the first time in a long time i am loving life

(lots of love word being thrown around in the next few lines) 

i have a great job, that i love

amazing parents&brothers

i am loving living on my own again

my roomates are the sweetest, most caring, fun, crazy girls there are and i love it

i realized who is really there for me and who isn't

and those that aren't, are no longer in my life

which creates a nice change

bye bye haters

my home girl whit is having a baby and i can't wait

who doesn't love babies? 

especially when its your best friends 

i am so happy for you whit&cory

i am just loving everything

there are so many great things that are happening

and im so excited to accept them

i hope everyone has a good day even thought it is a monday

:)

update

oh boy i have once again failed at staying on top of this blog of mine

so be ready for lots of random bits&pieces of life

1. new place

thats right i have moved out. 

and i love it.

it all happened so fast and kinda random but i couldn't be happier

i now live in legacy village

my awesome roomies are: mckenzi (jenzu), taylor, tonya, teniele, kaylee(murl)

its so nice to live with roommates who are fun and not always locked away in their rooms.

i can't wait till i have all the boxes unpacked

decorations on the wall

and finally make it my little home

(pictures will come when i get it setup)

2.brinley turned 1

my baby isn't a baby anymore

sniff sniff

last week was brinleys first birthday

and i can't even believe it

the way brinley came into our lives was a bit.. unexpected

but i knew from the moment i saw her picture she was an Allison

she has forever changed&blessed our lives

love you brinner.

first picture of brinely

love this little girl

i guess you can say we are little bit obsessed

3. i won!

okay i dont ever win anything.

and i mean anything

but a couple days ago i was reading one of my favorite blogs:

http://cleverlyours.blogspot.com/

and saw a giveaway.

so i figured why not.

and what do you know.

i won!! 

i am now the owner (as soon as it comes)

of a super cute cheerfully charmed orange adorned bib necklace

4. this isn't an update but more of thoughts/questions

okay, i dont even know if people read this, and if they do, i dont know if they care

but whoever is out there i need some help

my hair is in need of some serious tlc

i wake up to my hair looking&feeling like straw

when i brush it i feel like im going to go bald

i just want some healthy hair that will start to grow

what is a good:

 shampoo/conditioner

leave in conditioner

or just good hair products?

next:

spray tans.

yay or nah?

i am already loosing my tan

the joys of an office job.

i want some color back 

but without the damage of the tanning bed.

once again any suggestions?

anyone had one?

eyelashes&eyebrows.

anyone in logan know of a great place to get 

fake eyelashes

or 

eyebrows waxed?
i don't want to get the fake lashes that look well fake.

i want the more natural look

and my eyebrows.

okay i am super picky about them

my sister always did them

untill about a year ago

i then went to my friend who was in beauty school

but now i dont know where to go

any good salons? 

sorry this is so long

and super random. 

hope everyone is having a good week

&

happy halloween

quote me

double posting for today

i love quotes.

i just love finding words that i can relate to

lame. little bit. do i care. not one bit

i wanted to share a few of my favorites lately.

hopefully you can find some inspiration in them

life isn't always going to be easy.

everyone knows that.

but its going through the hard stuff that makes us appreciate the good

i had a wonderful talk last night with my dad

and he made me realize that this is my life

and i need to start living it for me

no one else.

back to reality

i'm back

arizona was a nice little break

much needed. much enjoyed.

my step-moms parents live about 30 mins away from any town 

so there was lots of driving back and forth

but we got the party planned (main reason why we went)

got some bonding time in

and of course made some time for fun

plus it was nice to get to know Jack&Lynda a little bit better

now its back to work

back to the gym

back to normal life

This is the awesome buggy that i was able to go in with my Gramps

that sign didn't stop us. it was so fun to go walk in these old mines

this was spooky. in the middle of no where there is this.
there is a hotel, saloon, salon, store and nothing else.
we aren't to sure what its for or why its there
but it was cool to look at

happy birthday tayten

if you follow me on instagram

or are friends on facebook 

then you know that yesterday was my nephews birthday

my little baby is now 5.

(insert cry moment here)

tayten is such a big part of my life & always will be

i love that i can watch him grow up and become a little boy

 even thought i miss him being my baby

since he was a baby we have always been connected at the hip

he was there for all of my dances, went to all the football/basketball games to watch me cheer,

always there when i cry to told my hand and say i love you aunt

i will surly miss my baby but can't wait to watch him become a little man

aunt sure does love you tay

rant&thought

well at least for me it is.

horray!

can i just say that knowing i only had to work 3 days this week made it go 3x slower.

anyways i am so looking forward to a mini little trip.

and i do mean mini.

we are leaving tomorrow at 3 am. i am planning on not going to bed tonight that way i can sleep in the car

its about a 12 hr car ride so we are hoping to be there by 3! crossing our fingers.

next: Rant

why do people only blog for the "fame"?

i understand that people do this all for their own reasons

me i do it for friends&family that dont live here

(most of my family is in illinois so its a nice way to keep them in the loop)

and i also do it for myself. 

i am horrible at keeping a journal.

i have tried over and over again to write in it, and it fails. without a doubt.

but when i read a blog and all it is is a way for them to get noticed or in a way show off

it makes me crazy! 

there are a few blogs that i just love

(buttons on the side) 

and you can tell they are in it for the right reasons

but to the people who do it for attention.

just stop.

next: Thought

family.

if you know me at all then you know the crazy Allison family

no joke we should probably have our own tv reality show with the way we are

but lately we haven't had the best of luck

in fact i would say worst luck ever.

my dad keeps saying "im not so sure i want to be an allison"

and its so true 

but this is when i am truly grateful for our heavenly father.

i know that he still loves me&my family.

and that these are just trials

i'll admit that sometimes i find myself on my knees asking why is this happening

why can't we just catch a break.

and every time i remember a saying posted in my moms house

"if god brings you to it, he'll bring you through it"

and as silly as this may sound. 

it helps.

so just remember that next time you feel as thought your against a wall,

or can't catch a break.

that you aren't alone. 

someone is always there, always cares, and always loves you. 

what makes a monday not horrible...

knowing that you only have to work for 3 days. horray! 

this makes a monday almost bearable..almost

it still is monday.

mondays still are no fun.

but i am looking forward to a little mini trip.

we are planning a surprise 50th anniversary for my step-grandparents.

50...that is defiantly something worth celebrating 

so we are going down this week to figure it all out and kinda get a feel for what we need.

not to mention do some detective work and get pictures and info without them knowing.

anyways.

this weekend was super laid back.

everyone in awhile you need to just do nothing.

friday i was feeling super emotional and just wanted to be with my dad.

weird i know.

so i was his sidekick for the night. 

we watched the usu vs byu game (still upset about it)

ate junk food and sat around in pjs

saturday i went in to my sisters to help her with a yard sale.

to my surprise she decided to cancel it....thanks jen for the heads up

i headed home with the nephew who i decided to steal for awhile

we played baseball, rode bikes, i watched some of conference (the rest has been recorded)

welcomed fall with getting some pumkins 

and just spend a good day with the little man.

lets hope this next few days go by fast so i can go enjoy the 90 degree weather!

sorry for the language.. just fit so perfect

wednesday wishes

i did this awhile ago and as i was sitting here thinking about what to blog about i remember this..

great idea right.

wednesday wishes 

Leather Pants- great fall piece

adorable right? these would go with everything

how cute is he?? the look of a husky but the smallness of a little dog

Boots-another great fall piece

iPhone picture cube-great idea to get your picture out of your phone



wouldn't it be great if you wished these things and proof here they are! ha  ha
i guess for right now they will just have to stay on the wish list