11 Things I Hate About You

Dearest Jason
Happy Anniversary! OK, I don’t really have 11 things that I hate about you, there’s really only one or two, and you know what they are, and I wouldn’t publicly announce them. I just had to put that as the title of this blog in honor of Miley Cyrus’s song (7 things I hate about you) because I think it’s stupid that she would list all the things she hates about a person and then tell them that she loves them… not super romantic, (in my opinion) but I’m not here to talk about Miley Cyrus, I’m here to talk about YOU.

So Jason, happy 11th year anniversary. Here is a list of 11 things I LOVE about you.

1. Your hair.
2. Your dedication.
3. Your insane ability to juggle a million things at once, (such as three jobs, a business, doctoral school, a family, and church callings) That was in no order by the way.
4. The way you kiss.
5. The fact that you call me five times a day because you miss me.
6. The way you write.
7. The way you teach.
8. I love you for buying me my dream house.
9. And giving me three beautiful children.
10. I love how forgiving and understanding you are.
11. And the fact that words like, psychopharmacology, idiosyncrasies, and paradigms, (along with a whole host of other words that I can’t think of right now) are part of you daily vocabulary.

Oh, and another thing I love about you “You make me love you!”

We Love you Stephenie! Sad news about Midnight Sun

Poor Stephenie Meyer

So, besides all the rude and angry fans that are now throwing a tizzy fit over Breaking Dawn, it appears that a copy of Midnight Sun has made its way to the internet. Besides being totally illegal it has made Stephanie so sad that she has given up on the project completely, and posted a chunk of the manuscript on her website. I can’t say I blame her, with the reactions to Breaking Dawn, and then someone stealing her story I would want to throw in the towel too. But I wish she would finish Midnight Sun. I was so excited to read that book. So here is my note to the awesome inspiring vampire authoress:

WE LOVE YOU STEPHENIE!! DON’T GET SAD! DON’T GIVE UP!

Here is a link to her website where you can read Midnight Sun.

A quick thought on Breaking Dawn and Stephenie Meyer

Stephenie Meyer and me. I'm nine months pregnant--so not an attractive pictures. (Of me. Stephenie is gorgeous)

I just wanted to say that it makes me sad how much negativity there has been on Breaking Dawn. I don’t mind people not liking a book, that’s fine, it happens all the time. Everyone should have their own opinions, but there have been petitions of people wanting to take the book back to the store and demand refunds because it wasn’t the book they wanted: people writing terrible things to Stephenie Meyer telling her how the book should have been written. I’m shocked.

Do they not understand how Stephenie Meyer has put her life on hold so she could write us this book, don’t they know she fought to give us a fourth book in the series. Whether or not we like it does not matter, it is a rare gift, given to us by an author who wanted to giveback to her fans. How selfish is it of people to be given a gift and then return it to the giver saying, it’s not good enough, it’s not what I wanted, give me something else. She must be exhausted, and rightfully so. Personally, I loved Breaking Dawn, I felt it was the best of the four books, and I enjoyed it like a delicious slice of chocolate cake. Some people don’t like chocolate cake, and that’s fine. But the least you can do is be grateful for what you have.

OK, I’m done with my soap box now. Thank you for listening, and please feel free to open up and share your thoughts on this.

Childless, just for a day…please!

I do not mean to discredit all the woman out there who are desperately trying to have children, or long to hold a baby in their arms, or swear they would put up with any trauma just to have a family. I respect that. I do. There was once a time I felt the same way.

But I wish, that for just one day, I could have no children. I want to clean my house and have it stay clean, or fold laundry and have it stay folded, instead of having it be pulled around the house by a crazy one-year-old with sticky fingers. I want to go to the store without dreading the temper tantrums that might follow. I want to buy something and not worry about how long it will be until it gets broken. I want to go to sleep at night and not be woken up because someone needs me to take care of them. I’m tired of having my hair pulled, my makeup stolen, and my books ripped apart. And I’m really tired of changing poopy diapers.

I wouldn’t change my life, not for anything. I love my children, and at the end of the day when all of them are sleeping I can look at them and think there is nothing, NOTHING, that brings me more joy.

But is one day so much to ask? I just want 24 hours of no one else to take care of but myself. I would love to say, I’m going to take a nap, or I’m going to watch a movie, or I’m going to read a book, or I’m going to run errands, or I’m going to write, and do it without any extra drama, without juggling any other obligations. Just once. That’s all I need, just a 24 hour break and then I’ll be ok for a little bit.

But I’m a mom, and mom’s never get breaks, especially not for 24 hours. There’s no sick time, no vacation time, no paid time off. There’s not even unpaid time off. I know that, I accept that, but it doesn’t mean I can’t dream of it. Things such as a clean house, or accomplishing tasks quickly and flawlessly, or sleeping are just not in my job description. Sigh. At least I have three of the most beautiful and adorable children in the world, and I get the greatest title, and the most well-earned title anyone has ever had: Mom.

Love for the Wii Fit

Do you have trouble exercising? Dread the act from beginning to end? Get the Wii fit! I can't believe how much I love this little machine. Why hasn't anyone thought of this sooner.

I'll have to blog more later, once I've used it for a week, rather than a day and see if I'm still in love with it. But as of right now, i feel that I have found a solution to my negative attitude towards exercise, and it's name is Wii Fit!

What Font are you

The tests they come up with!

Take it and find out what font you are. I'm Times New Roman!

You Are Times New Roman

You are formal and conservative. You're concerned with how you appear to others. For you, maintaining a good reputation is important. You want people to trust you. Elegant and classy, you always maintain your composure. You are never crass. You are professional, competent, and upstanding. And it shows!

What Font Are You?

30! We made it!

My 100th Post!! How cool to have it on my birthday. Seriously, it wasn't even planned.

30 years old. Taken two days ago. I just got my hair cut and I knew it would never look that good again, (since they styled it) so I threw on some jewerly, (which I never wear for fear that my son will break it) and had my mom quickly snap a shot. See how clever I am, I stood behind the chair, allowing it to hide the width of my hips. I'm so smart. :)

Today I am 30. I was struggling so much with the idea of turning 30, but I have to say that making the 30 lists really helped. It made me realize what a wonderful past I've had, it helped me see what an exciting future I have before me, but most importantly it reminded me to live and thrive in the moment.

Thank you to everyone who read all my posts, I commend you for any attempt you made! Thank you for all the comments, and if I offended or hurt anyone in any of my posts, that was never my intentions. Mostly I wanted to capture myself now. I'm not good at journals, and I wanted to have something documented for posterity. You know, so when my great-great-great grandchild has to write a report for school on one of their ancestors, they can pull these up and use it. (Hey if I really ever do have a great-great-great grandchild read this, just know that I think you are awesome for considering me for your school report. Good luck!)

So here is a list of 30 people I tag to make up 30 lists with 30 facts about themselves and 30 pictures...




just kidding


I wouldn't do that to anyone, but I would recommend it to everyone. if nothing else try to find a picture of yourself for each year of your life. Make sure you have a digital, labeled copy of it. That was hard, time consuming, and very worth it! Everyone should do that for themselves and their children too, if you are bored.

But it was surprising to me as I put these lists together, what memories I came across that I had forgotten about, what personality traits I discovered about myself, so I think it was very worth the time for me. If anyone else enjoyed them then that is just AWESOME!

Thank you for sharing with me this monumental birthday. And I really am excited to turn 30 years old today. (I should find out from my mom what time I was born, I think it was around 11:00 am)I hope all of you have a wonderful day, and if today is your birthday, (like, oh say, Maria) then Happy Birthday to you too! (a cool fact about Maria and me, not only do we share the same birthday, but our daughters have the same birthday too. how cool is that!) Oh and happy birthday to everyone out there with August birthdays. And happy birthday to everyone else turning 30 this year. In fact, Happy Birthday to everyone that is having a birthday sometime this year. I hope it's a great one for you!

30 random things about me

29 years old.

Well, we have almost covered everything. I'm sure you've read far more than you've ever wished to know. But, surprise surprise, there is still more. Here is just 30 random thigns about me. And don't worry, we really are almost done! Yes, there are some repeats on this, but I became too lazy to change them, and I figured that you probably either won't rememebr, or if you do remember then it will be just a great reminder.

1. I talk in my sleep, and say really funky things.

2. I can’t spell… at all!

3. My record of throwing up during pregnancy is 15 times in one day.

4. The day before 9/11 I was sick to my stomach with anxiety and felt like something bad was about to happen. I convinced myself and Jason that there was going to be an earthquake. Boy was I wrong.

5. I used to have prophetic dreams. But I haven’t had one for a while.

6. I floss regularly

7. Sometimes I really enjoy being alone.

8. At least once a month I stay up until 4:00am cleaning

9. Growing up my mom always gave me the most awesome birthday parties every year. My favorite was when we had a tea party and dressed up like it was the 1800's.

10. I would rather be too emotional, than not emotional enough.

11. I hate my feet! Especially my toes

12. My eyes are my favorite thing about my body

13. I love wearing makeup, but the older I get the lazier I become.

14. Growing up I always wanted to marry a king and live in a castle, guess what, now that I’m grown I’m married to a King and my house look slike a castle.

15. I think brown eyes and blond hair is the most beautiful physical combination there is. (No one in my family has it, not even me)

16. I love extra frosting on everything sweet

17. I have never been in a tanning bed, though I look much better with a tan.

18. I love the Japanese culture and wish I had lived there before I got married and had kids.

19. I love unicorns, fairies, and mermaids. But not so much dragons. Don’t know why. (You would think that with my love affair with the Japanese culture I would love dragons more than I do. Hmm, got to think about that one)

20. I have always been fascinated with ghosts and ghost stories. I have never seen a ghost but I totally believe they exist.

21. I can’t lie, it’s almost physically impossible for me to do. I would rather be honest, than deal with lying

22. But I do exaggerate, a lot. Especially when telling a story. I don’t mean to, it just happens. I think it’s the writer in my trying to make things more interesting. (so this posses the question, is exaggerating the same thing as lying… hmm, maybe I do lie, what do you think?)

23. I’m obsessive about washing my face each night, and each morning.

24. I don’t like camping; my idea of a vacation is having someone clean up after you, having meals prepared for you, and having a hot water and a comfortable bed.

25. But I love sitting around a campfire, and doing camping things, just not for extended periods of time. (Like more than 12 hours)

26. I’m a slow cleaner

27. I can resist eating sweets, but the moment I start I can’t stop. My self-control completely goes out the window.

28. After I had my third child I ate an entire box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, by myself, in an hour. And I didn’t even feel sick afterwards. (I blame it on having so much room in my body since a baby had been removed.)

29. In college I was very concerned about always wearing makeup. One night there was a fire alarm and I got up and did my makeup before I left my dorm. I know, pathetic. But at least I can laugh about it—now.

30. I can type really fast, but with tons, and I mean tons, of mistakes. I have never typed a whole page without several words being underlined in red and green. (It’s like Christmas every time I write)

30 things I hope to be doing in 30 years

28 years old. I feel like this picture was just taken yesterday. Now we're really getting close to the big 3-0

As I made up this list I realized that I'm not doing nearly enough of what I need to do in order to accomplish all the things on this list. It was a good wake up call for me, and I hope I can focus more on some of my long term goals, not just my short termed ones.

1. I want to be financially sound, (as in no debt and lots of retirement money)

2. I want to be a grandma.

3. I want to be healthy

4. I better have published something by then, even if it’s just a magazine article!

5. I would love to be on the New York Times Bestseller list, or have been at sometime in my life.

6. I hope that by then my house will stay clean for longer than ten minutes.

7. I hope that my house is more organized and NOT more cluttered.

8. I hope to have made a lot of progress on my “too read” list.

9. I would like to still be living in the same house I am living in now.

10. I hope I’m traveling the world.

11. I want my kids to be happy.

12. I want to be in a position that I can help my children through their trails that they will face as they start their own families.

13. I hope I remember and keep in touch with the friends that I have now. I’m really bad at keeping in touch with people.

14. I hope I’m more forgiving.

15. I want to be looking forward to the next 30 years of my life. (As in, I hope to live to be 90.)

16. I don’t want to be boring.

17. I hope I’m not a “slow” driver.

18. I wonder if I will still be a night owl, or if I will go to bed early.

19. I think it will be fun when I turn 60 to go back and read these lists, and see if I still agree with them.

20. I plan on celebrating my 41st wedding anniversary

21. By the time I’m 60 I want to have gone back to college, and graduated.

22. I hope I still have all my teeth.

23. I believe my husband’s private practice will be successful by then.

24. I hope I still have most of my hair.

25. I hope that all my immediate family is still alive.

26. I hope I am still alive. (My father died at only 54.)

27. I hope by then “they” have found a cure for colds and cancer.

28. I’m curious to see what kind of technology there will be that my children and grandchildren can operate that I don’t have a clue about.

29. I hope I’m stylish when I’m 60, (age appropriate stylish)

30. I hope I look back at my life and be proud of what I’ve done.

30 things about me as an adult

Just a few more days of being bombarded with useless facts about me. Almost done! Hang in there.

27 years old. My husband and me.

This was a hard list for me to write, because how do you write how you are as an adult, when you’re still trying to figure out how to be an adult. Also I felt like a lot of things were repeats, or things I was going to put in a coming up post of, “30 random things about me”. But I finally was able to put together a list.

1. I had three jobs before I became a stay at home mom. I worked the concessions stands in a movie theater, I was a waitress at Marie Calendars, and I worked at Convergys.

2. I’ve been a mother longer than I was a teenager.

3. On multiple occasions my husband and I have BBQ hamburgers at 1:00 in the morning.

4. I am awesome at playing Legend of Zelda, Ocarina of Time for the N64. (Because, until recently, I had very few other games and no other game console.)

5. I own way too many DVD’s. I regret I’ve spent so much money on movies.

6. I own way too many books, but I don’t regret spending money on any of them.

7. In church callings I’ve served in the nursery, in the primary, in the YW, in relief society, and on the activities committee. There’s really nothing left for me to do, so I think I’m OK if I never get called to do anything else. :)

8. I DO NOT scrap book.

9. Or make homemade, cute cards. I admire people that can do this, but it is one talent I do not have, and I’m ok with that.

10. I do not enjoy being pregnant

11. I am not a very fun person to be around when I am pregnant.

12. But I would do it over again, even twice as long if I had to, for each one of my babies!

13. Growing up I never had anyone close to me die. In five years, four people in my family passed away. (My cousin, my father, my grandmother and my uncle)

14. I was the first person in my family to get married, even though I am the middle child.

15. I’ve started reading a much wider variety of books than I used to, and I like it.

16. I used to be immune to motion sickness. I could do any ride at Lagoon without batting an eye. Now just the thought of some of those swivel rides make me nauseous. (I blame it on the pregnancies.)

17. As an adult I’ve come to realize that I still love to play with Barbie dolls, and I’m glad that I have a daughter that reintroduced that to me.

18. I buy my kids waaaaaay too many toys!

19. I can’t remember numbers for the life of me. It took me two years to memorize my zip code. (Never ask me how much something costs, I will say the first number that comes to my head and it is probably wrong.)

20. As an adult I’ve learned that I am not a good housekeeper. At all!

21. I’ve also learned that I am a very poor gardener.

22. I used to think I was a very patient, kind and loving individual. Than I had kids and realized I had no understanding of the word “patience”.

23. I often wonder how differently we would treat each other if we could see people’s divine nature, see all their potential, their goodness, and their accomplishments. If we could see them how God does, then how would we treat them?

24. I’ve realized that a happy marriage takes a lot of work. If it was easy than everyone would have it. And all the hard work makes it worth it.

25. I am a very task oriented person. (This is a fancy way of saying that I can’t do more than one thing at a time.)

26. I experience my emotions deeply. But as an adult I’m getting better at understanding them.

27. The older I get the less afraid I am of getting old.

28. I’ve learned for myself the truth to the fact that chocolate really does make everything better. At least for a little bit.

29. I think it’s an amazing thing that right after having a baby, we woman can sit there, without having taken a shower for days, leaking milk, hurting in places we never knew we could hurt, and unable to think straight from lack of sleep, and have our husbands come in, clean, showered, full of energy, holding their new infant, and look at us with more love and admiration than they’ve ever had before because of what we’ve accomplished and given them. (OK, I need someone to diagram that sentence. Wow, that was a paragraph in itself!)

30. As an adult I realize that I still feel the same age as I did as a child. I feel like I know more, I understand more, I’m taller and certainly wider, but the core of who I am has stayed the same.

30 things about me as a teenager

26 years old, right after I got a new haircut!

I don't like to remember myself as a teenager, because they weren't my favorite years. In fact I always cringe when I run into someone from high school, because I can't stop worrying about what terrible things they might remember about me from those years. Hopefully the bad memories have faded and the good ones have remained... hopefully. (Cringe)

In case if you are wondering, I graduated from Brighton High school in 1996. Wow, that was a long time ago.

1. There was a two year period that I loved wearing black and wore it almost every day. (But I wouldn't wear all black, usually)

2. I wanted to decorate my room with black carpet and lots of mirrors, (but I didn’t get to.)

3. I had an awesome earring collection with huge, long, and crazy earrings.

4. I would spend lunch writing instead of eating.

5. I woke up at 5:00 every morning just to write.

6. I would style my hair in crazy and elaborate hairstyles.

7. I wore a lot of braids.

8. I was so poor in high school that one year my family couldn’t afford to buy me a year book.

9. When I was 17 years old I had to get my first root canal.

10. My mother made huge sacrifices, just so I could have braces. It was of the greatest gifts she ever gave me. I started flossing religiously and brushing obsessively so that I could have beautiful teeth when they were taken off.

11. My first job was Nielson’s Frozen Custard. I worked here for two years, and became very addicted.

12. I only had two “official” boyfriends in high school, but I dated each one for about a year.

13. I was completely devastated when my first boyfriend dumped me after a year so he could date another girl. (Looking back, I don’t blame him. I was a little clingy,) But at the time I was so heartbroken I honestly believed I would never, EVER, be able to love again! (Don’t you love teenage angst.)

14. There was one semester when I went to school at 6:00 am for early morning seminary, and then I stayed at school until 6:00 pm for marching band practice. (This was on top of having a job, taking pre-calculus, and advanced English. No wonder teenage kids get stressed out, and I know it’s worse now than it was back then!)

15. I never watched TV. I didn’t have time.

16. One summer we had to move my bed room into the living room. It was really weird when the visiting teachers would come over.

17. Every summer, for about 2-4 weeks I would go down to St. George and spend it with Sonnett. She may never know how much that time together saved my sanity, (even though I would drive her crazy at times.)

18. I loved wearing skirts and high heeled shoes.

19. I refused to leave the house without wearing makeup.

20. I wrote a lot of fiction in middle school, but in High school I mostly wrote poetry. Lots and lots of poetry.

21. No matter how hard I tried I never received a 4.0. I missed it each time by one A-! EACH TIME!!

22. I loved being in marching band, despite how much people made fun of me for it.

23. I once had a guy send me a box of long stemmed, red roses during school, that was the coolest thing ever! (It was the end of my senior year. He was a college student that I had met the night before at a party. I felt so flattered.) I still think delivered roses are the most romantic, the coolest, the sweetest thing in the world (hint, hint… too bad my husband doesn’t read this. But if anyone sees him you can give him the message.)

24. My mother and I fought every day (but I think that’s typical for some teenage girls)

25. My family had no money for clothes, so over half my wardrobe was borrowed from friends.

26. I drove a beast of a car from 1978, (I can’t remember the make or model). It was literally the size of a boat, and it only had am radio. A bad am radio! My little brother and I would crank up the sound and drag Highland Drive, rocking out to “Papa Loves Mambo”.

27. Most of my paycheck went to pay for food for the family, or anything I needed, (i.e. shampoo, contact lens solution toothpaste..)

28. I lost the contact for my left eye, and my family was so poor I couldn’t afford another, and my only pair of glasses were broken, so for six months I only wore one contact.

29. Between my parents hating each other and hardly speaking, my family being dirt poor, my boyfriend breaking up with me, and being overwhelmed with school and work I went into a huge depression during my junior year. This is the year that I worry about what people remember of me. (Like crying all day—sitting in front of my locker crying—crying so hard in class that the teacher finally asked me to leave because I was disturbing the class so much, … It was bad. Now you probably understand why I married a therapist. Not only a therapist, but one who specialize in adolescences, especially female adolescences. Yes, I feel like the Lord has always been watching over me)

30. I was very skinny in high school. I had a 21 inch waist. And although I would love to physically have that again, I would never want to be in the emotional situation I was in that left me with such a slender frame. I’d rather have my curves and be happy, than be slender and depressed. :

30 things about me as a child.

25 years old. I'm at a fancy tea house in Seattle, celebrating my birthday.

1. I hated reading in elementary school, and I’m a slow reader because of it.

2. When I was 7, I was in a fatal car accident that changed my family forever. (Not fatal to me, obviously, but fatal to the woman who hit us.)

3. I had a uni-brow and very crooked teeth. Because of this, I’m very hyper-sensitive to how my teeth look. We couldn’t’ afford braces until I was in high school and I cried the day I got them because I was so grateful to have them.

4. I was such a nerd!

5. I was very shy and was terrified of speaking to adults. (This fear lasted until I was in my 20’s. I still get nervous sometimes.)

6. I had a fiery temper and would throw and kick things when I was mad.

7. I had very sharp finger nails and thought it was fun to claw people, (I know I was messed up)

8. I was always worried about others, especially if I had hurt them.

9. I was awful at spelling, (huh, I still am. Some things don’t change)

10. I knew I wanted to be a writer.

11. I was good at kick ball and a fast runner, then around sixth grade those kind of sporty things ended.

12. I loved camping and being in the outdoors. (I hate camping now, I don’t know what changed.)

13. I loved playing dress ups.

14. I loved playing with Barbies, and went to great lengths to hide it from my friends. (It wasn’t cool to play with Barbies in fifth grade.)

15. I was scared of the dark and thought there were goblins in my room.

16. I loved climbing trees and would dream of living in a tree.

17. Whenever I played at playgrounds I would pretend I was a princess and that the play-gym was my castle.

18. My mother called me Aly-Sunny because I was always smiling, and with my blond hair and blue eyes she felt like I looked like sunshine.

19. I had a doll named Sunshine.

20. I had gold fish named Red Hot. Trying to be funny my brother told me he died right after I bought him. I broke into hysterical sobbing for a full ten minutes until my brother showed me he was joking.

21. Everyone called me Aly, I didn’t really grasp the fact that my name was Alyson, (around seventh grade I made everyone call me Alyson because I felt it was more “grown-up” now I don’t care.)

22. I had many perms in my hair.

23. Green was my favorite color. (Now it’s blue)

24. I loved paper dolls

25. I could ride a bike with no hands.

26. I got “married” to the neighborhood boy at least three times.

27. I believed that there were fairies living in my garden.

28. I had pneumonia when I was eight and had to be hospitalized.

29. I was never allowed to have Sees chocolates at Christmas time. They were only for grownups, I remember wanting so desperately to just have one piece.

30. I only ever cheated once in my life. It was on a spelling test in second grade. I wrote the word on the desk before the test and erased it afterwards. The word was “friend”. I felt sick for years afterwards and before I graduated elementary school I finally went and told my teacher. I never cheated after that experience. And I’ve never publicly admitted to this either. (Wow, does it feel good to get THAT off my chest.)

If I were rich

24 years old. Ah, the good old Convergys days.

This is my list of things I would buy if I had more money than Bill Gates. But before you read this list, I want people to know that if I really did have tons and tons of money my first priority would be to give some of it away to help others. I am a huge believer of charity! I have been on both sides, receiving and giving, and I know how small acts have changed my life, and I know the joy that comes from sharing what you have. Most of the things on this list I probably would never really do because I couldn’t justify it.

With that disclaimer in place, it sure is fun to pretend. So here is what I would do if I had buckets of money, and everyone in the world had all their needs and many of their wants taken care of, and I could spend all of this money on myself.

I just don’t want people to think I’m selfish and that I would spend a billion dollars on myself. Come on people, I don’t need a billion dollars. I would be perfectly happy just spending a million on myself! :)

1. I would own my home!

2. I would pay to have a housekeeper come clean my house everyday!

3. I would have a cook, but I would still cook on occasion because I enjoy cooking a lot.

4. I love my house so I don’t think I would move, (unless if I had too many kids filling it up) But I would do several home improvements to it such as:
a. Add a patio
b. Repaint the whole house
c. Get tile everywhere I want
d. Finish off my basement
e. Decorate in high fashion

5. I would have a very lavish garden and hire a gardener to tend it.

6. I would get season tickets on Broadway, and go once a month.

7. I would take my entire family and Jason’s whole family on the Disney cruise for a week and then to Walt Disney World for a week, and pay for everything!

8. I would buy every Barbie doll I’ve ever wanted and have a custom-built display case made to show them off.

9. I would hire a babysitter once a week for a whole day so that I could have the entire day to myself.

10. I would buy clothes whenever I want, even if they weren’t on sale.

11. I would get my hair done once a month, (instead of once every two years, like I do now.)

12. I would go on luxury cruises all around the world.

13. I would buy every book I’ve ever wanted, and everything on my Amazon wish list.

14. I would buy a Honda Odyssey.

15. Anytime something broke I would throw it away and buy a new one, instead of fixing it or trying to reuse it.

16. I would eat out way too much, at restaurants so expensive that they don’t even put the prices on the menu.

17. I would have all my jeans custom fit, so they looked awesome and were comfortable.

18. I would hire a personal trainer and have my own in-house gym… (maybe I would have to buy a bigger home then)

19. I would buy this, just because I could.

20. I would completely spoil my kids and buy them anything they’ve ever wanted. (OK, I wouldn’t really do this because I don’t think it would be good for them, but every now and then I wish I could spoil them rotten and have them still turn out good.)

21. I would get my teeth movie-star perfect.

22. I would buy over-the-top lavish gifts for people at Christmas.

23. I would own one piece of expensive jewelry, (but only one piece because I know if I had more my kids would get into them and ruin them.)

24. I would own one expensive piece of art (When I say expensive I mean something over $1,000. It would scare me to own anything more expensive than that.)

25. I would have a kick-butt food storage and everything would be organized.

26. I would have stained glass windows put in place of my bedroom windows.

27. I would stay in super expensive hotels, in the most lavish room they have.

28. I would buy myself fresh flowers everyday.

29. I would throw the coolest most lavish parties. (These are my dream birthday parties I would give my girls. For Janae I would fly all her guests to California, go to the American Girl Doll Store, buy everyone a doll, an outfit for them and for the doll. Then we would watch a movie and eat in the restaurant. For Sarah I would take all her guest to get their hair, nails and makeup done, take them to each buy whatever dress up they would want and then rent out Hattfieldadelphia, where they have that big castle and let them be princesses for a day.)

30. My whole family would wear custom-made, awesome Halloween costumes every year. (Sounds dumb, but I’ve always wanted to go all out with Halloween, maybe it’s something leftover from my love of playing dress-up when I was younger.

30 of my favorite TV shows

8/8/08 (What are you doing to rememebr this cool date? I hope you're reading this blog. That would make me feel so awesome!)

23 years old. This picture was taken at my brother, Robby's, wedding.

I don’t really watch that much TV, except for Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, and that’s by default, not by choice. But there are a few shows that have become very near and dear to me. I also added a few shows from my childhood. Which ones do you love? (as I made up this list I actually realized I watch way more TV than I thought I did. I know—pathetic.)

1. Sailor Moon (Season Five is the best, but all five seasons are wonderful. But you need to watch it in Japanese. The English version is just plain cheesy. Endearing, but cheesy.)If no one else at least Sonnett and Sabine have to look at how cute this site is!

2. Sailor Moon Live action (hands down my favorite TV show of all-time.)

3. Ghost Hunters (So creepy and cool all at the same time)

4. What not to Wear (Who doesn’t want a personal shopping trip with Stacey and Clinton, but until I get nominated, at least we have Laura Lee living in the neighborhood. She is easily as fashion savvy!)

5. Myth Busters (A learning show that’s hilarious, and you’d be surprised how much information I glean from these guys.)

6. How It’s Made (This has become a family favorite, we sit around learning how they make everything from golf balls to gummy worms.)

7. Iron Chef (I fell in love with the Japanese version years ago, and when they first introduced it to America it was a joke. Now, with the help of Mark Dacascos as the Chairman, a sassy chef like Bobby Flay, and a witty host like Alton Brown, it has become as fun to watch as the Japanese version. Although I do miss the great English dubbing.)

8. It Takes a Thief (Who would have thought to make a show documenting men breaking into your home. But it’s awesome to learn the way a thief might think.)

9. Kim Possible (I don’t know why, but I think this cartoon rocks!)

10. The Simpsons (I grew up on this, and something comforting overcomes me when I hear the theme song. Though I haven’t watched it in years, I still laugh thinking about my favorite episodes.)

11. Wheel of Fortune (Loved watching this as a kid, and trying to figure out the words)

12. Who’s the Boss (I think I was in love with Tony, and who doesn’t want an in-house cook and cleaner who’s hot and has an accent)

13. Gummi Bears (I would rush home from school every day in order to be on time to watch this cartoon.)

14. She-Ra (A kick-butt sword woman living in a fantasy setting who is also a princess! and she has a horse that turns into a flying unicorn. What’s not to love? This is probably the basis for most of my books.)

15. Jem and the Holograms (I’m still waiting for them to make a movie of this one. I love that everyone has every color of hair, except for a shade that is realistic.)

16. Lady Lovely Locks (About a girl who had magical power in her long, long colorful hair. Sweet!)

17. The Smurfs (I have never been so dedicated to a Saturday morning cartoon as I was to this one. I was heart broken when they took it away. It was a smurfing good show.)

18. Between the Lions (This show is so clever that even I get sucked into watching it with the kids.)

19. Full House (I have a hard time watching the reruns, but I sure loved it years ago.)

20. The Twilight Zone (I love the original black and white, not the new ones. They are so creepy and well done, I still love watching them late at night.)

21. The Polka dot Door (Did anyone else grow up watching this preschooler show? It was my passion when I was three years old.)

22. Strawberry Shortcake (The original. I’m not too big on the new version. But the original is near and dear to my heart.)

23. Saved by the Bell (I laugh just thinking of the title. Oh Zack! I was so in love with you.)

24. Property Ladder (Love watching people make housing mistakes, because I know I would probably do the exact same thing)

25. Avatar, the last air bender. (This is just a great cartoon with kick-butt super powers. I wish I could live in the world with Aang. Who knew an American cartoon could be so cool?)

26. Ace of Cakes (This guy is hilarious, and he makes awesome cakes too.)

27. Jon and Kate plus Eight (This makes me realize just how easy it is to have only three kids.)

28. A Haunting (Shown on Discovery each day it tells stories of true ghost hauntings throughout the years. Kind of theatrical, but still fun to watch.)

29. Cash Cab (The coolest game show on TV!! You get a free cab ride AND can earn money.)

30. Good Eats (I think Alton Brown reminds me a Jason, except Jason doesn't cook-at all. But they are both a little ADHD. That's why I like both of them!)

30 favorite candies

22 years old. Taken right after my oldest child was born

Really, my favorite kind of candy is the kind in a black and white box from See’s. But I still, on occasion, get a craving for something I can run to the store and grab. I seriously think I have the worst sweet tooth in the world. And I wonder why I struggle losing weight. Look at my list and the answer will be apparent.

And I’m offering a contest. Do you remember how we use to make those candy-grams on poster bored, where you would incorporate as many different kinds of candy into the card and tape the candy onto the poster bored, (Hey Sugar Daddy, you take me to the Milky Way) he he he, I know, cheesy, I’ve never been good at them.

Anyway, whoever comes up with the best card, using the most kinds of candy from my list below will win a prize. (Your choice of any of the following candies) You don’t have to make me the card, (unless if you want to) just type in what you would do for it in the comments section (or you can send me an email). The winner will be announced on my birthday, August 15th. Good luck.

1. Jr. Mints

2. Rolos

3. Caramello

4. Jelly Belly (my favorite flavors are coconut, watermelon, and black licorice)

5. Hot Tamales

6. Good and Plenty

7. Red Vines

8. Butterfinger

9. Milky Way


10. Skittles and M&M’s together

11. Banana Laffy Taffy

12. Gummy Peaches

13. Cinnamon Gumdrops

14. Tootsie rolls, (when they’re fresh so they’re soft)

15. Symphony bar

16. Swedish fish

17. Pink Starburst

18. Mini Cadbury Eggs, (it’s a good thing these are seasonal)

19. Crunch

20. Mounds

21. Cherry Nibs

22. York Peppermint patties

23. Milk Duds

24. Whoppers

25. Sugar Babies

26. Pop Rocks

27. Hershey Kisses

28. Twix

29. 100 Grand

30. Orlando Bloom, (Oh, sorry I forgot we’re talking about edible candy, not eye candy. Oh, but I would like to take a bite out of him!)

30 facts about my family

Only 10 more lists left!

21 years old. This was taken on my first cruise. (I'm wearing the dress I had my bridesmaids wear. I borrowed it from my sister)

When I think about my family I think of two groups of people: my brothers and sister—and my husband and children. So I did fifteen facts about my family I grew up with and 15 facts about my family I’m living with now.


My brothers and sister.

This is the latest picture taken of my brothers, my sister, me and my mom. It was taken about two weeks ago. Left to Right: Robby. Erin, Tommy,my mother, me, Drew. (btw, Drew's single if anyone is looking. Isn't he a cutie.)

1. I feel smart if I can keep up with the dinner conversations, (they’re always talking about physics, computers, or politics)

2. We are very close, and love getting together.

3. Everyone in my family is very smart, (I feel dumb whenever I’m around them)

4. In 2000, our childhood home of 25 years burned to the ground.

5. Every single one of us had a feeling that someday our house would burn down.

6. I love reading, but I struggle the most with reading in my family. (Everyone else kicks butt!)

7. Growing up, I was the fairest in the family, and use to play it up all the time. Now my youngest brother is the most fair… cruse you Drew!

8. No one in my family skis, does outdoor sports, or watches them on TV. It’s a very un-Ingebretsen thing to do.

9. All of us LOVE to stay up late. We thrive as night owls.

10. We laugh like crazy whenever we are together.

11. We all have big butts.

12. and funny noses.

13. Most of us hate leftovers, (but not all.)

14. All of us know, and miss Bob Parley. She was as much a member of the family as anyone. (Only my brothers and sister, and they’re spouses will understand this comment. Well, I think. I don’t even know if Jason knows the details about Bob Parley.)

15. None of us sing, but we are all musically inclined and can play an instrument.

My family now: A husband, a wife and three crazy kids.


1. All of us love to play video games, especially games that we can do together, (such as Mario Cart, or Wii sports) but we don’t really have much time to spend on this.

2. We are all very emotional. The girls much more so than the boys, but even they have their moments. The girls, (including myself) are pure estrogen when it comes to emotions.

3. All of us love to eat cereal before going to bed.

4. None of us like tomatoes or mushrooms. OK, I admit I have indoctrinated my kids with this belief. Total brainwashing! But I believe someday they will understand)

5. Country music is not allowed in out house.

6. We have never once watched sports on TV. (Well except the Olympics, but even that is limited to Gymnastics, and maybe a little swimming)

7. Everyone in the family knows who Edward Cullen is. (Hyrum is still trying to grasp the concept, but we’re working on it.)

8. We are addicted to YouTube, even my children.

9. My children were shocked to learn that in the “olden days” they didn’t have DVD players. Ouch, am I really that old.

10. All of us LOVE birthdays and CHRISTMAS. (but is that really such a surprise)

11. None of us are good singers.

12. Or good dancers.

13. but that doesn’t stop us from doing both.

14. Our favorite TV channels are Discovery Channel and TLC.

15. We very rarely make our beds (but that’s more my fault, I just don’t see the point when you’re going to mess it back up in a few hours.)

Most expensive things I own that I couldn’t live without, or items that are irreplaceable

You are lucky because you get to read another list of 30 things about Alyson King.

I dare anyone out there to make there own 30 lists of 30 things. it is hard, but very fun and very interesting to see what you learn about yourself.

20 years old. Here ends the professional pictures. It was hard to find pictures of me over the next few years, or at least pictures that I was not too embarrassed to post on the Internet.


As I was coming up with this list I realized that I really don’t have many things of much value. I often worry about someone breaking into my house. But then I realized there isn’t much for them to steal besides my checkbook and passport. Not sure if that’s really comforting or depressing, but I am grateful for the things I have and that what I have works. So here is my list of the most expensive things I own that I couldn’t live without, or things that are irreplaceable to me.

1. Gasoline. I’ve had my mini van for the past four years and I am certain that I‘ve spent more on gas for it, than on the vehicle itself!

2. Diapers and wipes. Maybe individually they’re not expensive, but I spend a lot of money on them, and I couldn’t imagine not having them.

3. My computer. I really don’t think I could survive without one, at least not for more than a few days.

4. My Car. I hate my car, it’s old, it’s clunky, but it runs and I know I couldn’t live without it.

5. My house. Ok, I don’t own my house yet, but I’m including things I hope to own someday, and that I’m making payments on now.

6. My grandmother’s necklace. When my father died my grandmother let me wear her Tiffany pearl necklace to the funeral, and told me I could have it when she died. This and my wedding ring are the only pieces of nice jewelry I own, but I love it more because of the sentimentality than because of the actually value. (Honestly I have no idea how much it’s even worth. It might not even be that much.)

7. Wedding ring. I could live without this, but I wouldn’t want to.

8. The TV. Ok, this is a must for anyone with kids. There are days I don’t know how I would survive without it.

9. CD player. How did people live I the “olden days” without the ability to hear whatever music they wanted whenever they wanted?

10. My book collection. I suppose if I was desperate and had no books I could go to the library for everything, but it give me a high, like a drug, for me to own my own books.

11. My bed. It’s nothing nice, in fact it’s 11 years old. But I love it much more than sleeping on the floor.

12. My pillow. I am very fond of my feather pillow, so much that I won’t travel without it. I just can’t sleep on the hotel room pillows. I have to have my own.

13. 700 thread count Egyptian cotton “sateen” sheets. Sigh. I’ve spoiled myself with this luxury, and now I’m addicted.

14. Food. Do you know how much money I spend on food? Especially good and healthy food. But so worth every dime. Literally, I could not survive without food.

15. Eye glasses/and or contacts. I would die in a car crash if I tried to drive without them, so I certainly need these.

16. My original books and stories that were hand written. My handwritten stories from my youth are fading with each year, but I treasure them as much as possible and I have done what I can to preserve them.

17. My table and chairs. As comfortable as my couch is, I prefer the table when I’m eating.

18. My education. We have spent much, much more on my husband’s education, but I value every cent I have spent to help me learn more, and I hope to spend even more money someday to help me expand that.

19. Hand-written letters that my father wrote to me when he was alive. After he died I looked for every personal thing he had ever given me. It’s amazing how seeing his handwriting with my name and those simple words, “I love you” can mean so much to me.

20. My flash drive. It has all my files backed up from my computer in case it ever crashed. I would hate to be without that in an emergency.

21. My cell phone. The bane of my life, can’t live with it, can’t live without it.

22. Clothes. Ok, I spend more money than I should on clothes, and that’s my fault. But let’s face it, clothes are expensive and I would be very uncomfortable living without them.

23. My children. Hands down they are the most expensive things in my house, and one thing that is irreplaceable and I couldn’t imagine my life without.

24. My fridge. Another convenience I can’t imagine living without.

25. My washer and dryer.

26. My dishwasher. No wonder the middle class had to have hired help. There is no way people could do it on their own.

27. My BBQ. This is my lifesaver in the summer, especially if my husband is going to help with the cooking.

28. The internet. This isn’t as expensive as it use to be, but it does take enough of my money over time, and I really could not live without it.

29. My newly acquired Wii. Once you play it you can’t imagine life without it, he he he…

30. My 20kt pink-diamond, Harry Winston necklace. I just love this so much I can’t stand to lock it up, so I let it hang around in the open on the rare days I’m not wearing it… Just kidding. I only wish I had a fat diamond necklace. I’m just running out of things to say.

Thoughts on Breaking Dawn—NO SPOILERS!!!!

I just finished reading the fourth book of the Twilight Series, Breaking Dawn. I loved it. I was surprised by how much I loved it. It was by far the best of all four books. I have always loved these books, but I have certainly had my issues, kind of a love-hate thing. The more I love them, the more certain things have bothered me. Breaking Dawn made all those annoyance worth it. The funny thing is that I wasn’t as excited for this book as I was with the others. I wasn’t planning on reading it as quickly or as soon as I had with the others. In my mind it was just going to be a close repeat of Eclipse, I was SO wrong! I feel that this was the real story meant to be told. The other three books were just preparatory for this book. It was rather long, more than needed to be in some parts, but I did not want it to end. I would recommend it to everyone. As I said the other three books need to be read, as they set this book up, but in my mind, Breaking Dawn is the true story, the story that shines far above all the others.

30 of the cheapest things I couldn't live without.

Another day, another list... almost done, don't worry.

19 years old. My wedding picture. (Yes, I got married very, very young)

Here is a list of those small annoying things that are all over your house, things that cost pennies, (well more like nickles and dimes lately, or even quarters and dollars). But they are the things that I can't imagine living without. What cheap conveniences do you depend upon?


1. Floss
2. Soap
3. Q-tips
4. Toilet Paper
5. Water
6. Hairbrush
7. Chap stick
8. Stamps (who else would deliver a letter across the country for 42 cents?)
9. Post-it notes
10. Hangers
11. Zip lock bags
12. Tin foil
13. Salt
14. Lip stick
15. Tooth paste
16. and a toothbrush
17. Paperclips
18. Rubber bands
19. Pens (there is nothing worse when you need a pen and you can’t find one)
20. Bleach
21. Nail clippers
22. A book mark
23. Kleenx
24. Scissors
25. A pacifier, (for my child—not me!)
26. Band-aids
27. Tweezers
28. Dr. Pepper
29. Chocolate
30. Sugar