how time flies

if I were to go back to August 28th, 2005, I never would have have guessed how my life would have turned out. I just moved away from home to a new city and was about to start my college career. I was so not confident about anything. I was very dependent on others and didn't even have my driver's license. I had no idea what journey I was about to embark on nor did I know where I was going to end up. I was just going with the flow.


I remember going to Outback that night, wanting to die. (I just hiked all day and had a horrible cold on top of it.) never would I have thought I would meet this person who would change my life forever.

first date at Outback. (2005)

I remember the main thing I found attractive about this person (besides his curls that he claims he never had looked curly to me) was his sense of humor. and how easy it was for him to win over my dad. (hell, my dad was the one who asked him to date me!) although it was a very awkward night for someone as insecure as I was, we exchanged numbers and about a week later he gave me a call and we've been by each other's side ever since.

one year anniversary. (2006)

I encouraged him to go back to school while I was starting my first semester of Chemical Engineering at U of A. He started out in Civil Engineering but soon switched over to Mining Engineering and that's when we embarked on our careers together. he "helped" me land my first internship as a sophomore in an industry I never even considered working in. but I haven't turned back and don't know anything else.

our first internship together. (2007)

we fought, I cried, we made up, and we struggled. I had nothing but doubts for a long time but was too scared to leave, even though my friends kept telling me to. and even though I felt alone in the relationship, he was my rock. not to mention he was basically my tutor. but something told me keep trying. because I saw the person he was on the inside...deep inside. and I liked that person. a lot.

hiking in Elko, NV. (2008)

I don't know where I would be today if it wasn't for him. I may not have even graduated college. I definitely wouldn't be working in the industry I am now. and I'm thankful he has been there to get me to where I am today.

at my college graduation. (2009)

Chris is my best friend. no one is as accepting of me and my quirky and sometimes childish ways as he is. no one supports me the way he does. no one helps me grow into more of an adult every day by challenging me and guiding me.

at a suns game. (2010)

and six years later, here we are. six years of heartache. six years of laughter. six years of struggles. six years of understanding. six years of love.

it's amazing how long we've been together. it used to scare the hell out of me, but now I'm looking forward to the time we'll have together for the rest of our lives. we have grown so much together and are finally getting in our own groove. we're finally starting to understand each other and express ourselves in a way that helps us grow rather than destroy us.

date night in Durango, CO. (2011)

when I really think about everything we've been through I stop doubting and start realizing this is real. 

we may have our problems and he may not be the best communicator and I may be too emotional, but we're pretty damn great together. even though it was last Sunday, happy anniversary babe.

new york and labor day in pictures

warning: lots of pictures to follow. :)

amazing news. I mentioned earlier that my brand new hard drive died on me last week - just days after uploading all my new york pictures on it. I thought I lost 10 days worth of awesome-ness and was absolutely crushed. not to mention chris was also really upset since he's convinced it'll be the last time he visits there because his grandma was thinking about selling it.

weeeelllll, turns out I uploaded 121 of the photos onto facebook! I didn't realize I did because when I tried uploading, it kept coming up with an error so I didn't think I ever got them uploaded. but I did! 

yaaay!

I don't have all the pictures I took but 121 of them is a lot and definitely enough to visually remember our little vacay. so here's my faves:

chris's grandma's backyard take feet from her back door.

chris's grandma's adorable house

sunset over findely lake

I loved the contrast of the sunset in new york compared to what I'm used to seeing. in arizona, our sunsets are deep, rich oranges and purples whereas here I felt they were softer and more pastel-y. beautiful in it's own way.

me frolicking in green lands 

there was so much green I couldn't believe my eyes. coming from arizona where the only green you see is weeds or pine trees up north, the amount of green I saw here was amazing. I loved every inch of it. but I don't think I could trade my desert in just yet.

canoeing

the beautiful church chris's grandpa pastored at

I'm not a religious person but I was awestruck with this church. I found it absolutely astonishing. the inside was insane with intricate woodwork and gorgeous stain glass. chris's grandpa was a pastor at this church for about 13 years! 

looking at lake erie.

chris and I at Niagra Falls (on the canadian side)

and since I have my computer up and working and my sister uploaded some pictures of our labor day bbq, I thought I share a couple of those too.

cheyenne, pepper, and my dad

I swear she's a little camera ham

pepper & cheyenne swimming along

it looks like they're best buddies, but in reality pepper is the annoying little cousin that cheyenne despises. she's actually scared of pepper. she refuses to go outside if pepper's at the door.yenne's almost anti-social I think.

I'm so thankful for facebook and it uploading most of my pictures. I'm also thankful for my awesome family and amazing photographer sister. :)

SFW.4

part of me is ecstatic it's thursday because that means I get to catch up on my sleep very very soon. but the other part of me is bummed because summer fashion week is almost over. I've been having so much fun!

today my parents are coming over and chris and I will be making dinner for them. we try to have them over weekly, but things have been pretty hectic the past couple of weeks.

here's my making-dinner-for-the-rents outfit:

purple cover-up: charlotte russe
top: charlotte russe
shorts: wet seal
shoes: wet seal

I immediately fell in love with the top when I saw the detail on the back:

I think it's a nice way to incorporate crochet in an outfit without overdoing it.

the details:

purple jeweled headband: charlotte russe

the earrings remind me of little disco balls hanging from my ears.

earrings: tillys

I realize I post a lot of pictures. my bad. I guess I like taking pictures too much. ha. one last photo to show the full outfit again.

I'm not sure what's wrong with my leg

hopefully dinner turns out decent! I'm not such a great cook. since I'm a newbie, recipes are a necessity.

it's still not too late to join in!

where oh where is the rain?

I've been hearing a lot of people talking about how hot the weather is where they live. here, in the lovely and oh-so-exciting state of arizona, the highs are 110+ (this week we're blessed to possibly hit 115 degrees!). and our lows seem to stay in the 90s. there's been nights when it's still over 100 degrees outside. yes, it's a dry heat ("that's like saying, put me in a oven instead of the pot of boiling water") but I don't want it. I'm done with the heat.

all I know is I'm waiting for the monsoons to pay their visit. I've been looking forward to a good monsoon for what seems like forever! when I was a kid, I remember the monsoons being crazy - strong winds, a vast amount of lightning, and pouring rain. I feel like the monsoons just aren't the same anymore. it breaks my heart. it makes me wanna scream whhhyyy?! into the clouds. where is it? it's frustrating. it aches my heart. it makes me want to go crazy. especially when every time I've left work the past two weeks, this is what I'm driving away from:

monsoons getting ready to hit the town of globe/claypool/miami
*actual picture I took on the mine

and this is pretty much what I come home to (minus the greenery):

the superstition mountains, sunny and light cloud-age
*not an actual picture I took

and then I get all excited and wait for the storm near work to hit. (I work about 50 miles southeast of where I live, and usually that's the area the storms come from) but it never does. it's like the monsoon sees the little town of apache junction, and decides to take a detour (and who really blames it?). for two weeks this is how my evenings go. my evenings should be filled with:

I should be hiding from the sounds of the wind. I should be listening to "american pie" while watching the rain through the windows. I shouldn't be able to go swimming because the lightning's too close. and I should be laughing because the dogs are going crazy from the thunder (I don't even know if they would or not!) but no. instead I'm doing errands and swimming at my parents' house.

mr. monsoon, why are you so late this year? some of us are more than excited to see you (the amount of excitement nears that of christmas day). I'm aching for the smell of desert rain. I desire my nights of lightning watching and listening to the relaxing sounds of thunder. I could do without the wind, but if the wind is required in the package deal then I'll take it. just please visit soon. I miss you. sincerely, your biggest fan, alicia.

SFW.2

yay! I actually have a reason to dress up this afternoon. good ol' shopping and wetzel pretzels with my favorite tracy!

but first, a look at my everyday work attire.

hard hat: provided from work
safety glasses: from work (sierrita)
polo: aeropastale
safety vest: from work
cheap jeans: walmart

boots: converse

exciting, I know. when you work at a mine, you have a dress code (like most workplaces). only problem is mine requires jeans & ppe (personal protective equipment). and because I work with acidic solutions (hence the cheap jeans - if you seen my other one, you'd see what acid wash really means) it's not really practical to wear cute blouses. I know, lucky me.

 now on to my outfit for my girl time with tracy! 

ginger wanted to be included too

something a little more girly for a trip to the mall. if you look downstairs you can see some of our mess in our kitchen. looks like we need to clean.

top: papaya
vest: charlotte russe
jean skirt: target

I'm obsessed with flats. I hate wearing socks so I wear tennis shoes very seldom. I think flats bring just the right amount of femininity to any outfit. I find about 90% of my flats at charlotte russe. they're always a good price.

flats: charlotte russe

thanks for viewing! don't forget to join in!

fashion friday: mad men

I've always been fascinated with fashion. I strongly believe it's a freedom of speech - a way to express oneself. and I love seeing everyone's different fashion ideas and such. but at the same time, I feel I can't classify myself in a fashion "category." I'm not punk. I'm not preppy. I'm not tomboy. and I'm not vintage. I have all different kinds of clothing in my closet. it kind of disappoints me - almost every one I know has a style. and sometimes I feel lost when it comes to my style. it's hard for me to pick one style. it's hard for me to accept that I may look good in a particular style as well. but regardless, I love fashion. so I thought I'd share some of my favorite pickings and things I come across online or in life that interest me.

this week I browsed a couple of sites and saw some things that not only caught my eye but also have a mad men theme.

brought to you by modcloth

I think this dress is rightly named: sweet temptation. the bow and polka dots give it a sweet taste yet it kind of hints at some spiciness that awaits underneath. this would be something I'd wear if I was betty draper from mad men and had a studly husband like don draper. I could do dishes commando in this dress. no doubt.






while I'm the topic of mad men, this dress also reminds me of that show.

brought to you by unique-vintage

more specifically, the character joan holloway perfectly played by christina hendricks. I've only watched a few episodes of mad men but I found it very fascinating. and I'm pretty confident every woman has a girl crush on her. she exudes this confidence of a sex kitten while still keeping it (somewhat) classy. she is also shaped like a real woman. I envy her curves. it's way better than being a straight stick. and she has every curve possible and rather than hiding it, like more curvy women today (other than beyonce), she flaunts it. and not in a trashy way. in a classy, yet in your face, way. amazing. if I had curves like her's, I'd buy this adorable dress. that and if I was willing to spend $150 on a dress that I don't have enough occasions to wear it to.

although, if I had a office job, like a secretary or administer or something, I would want to wear something like that. or this below. if I felt like I could pull it off of course.

brought to you by unique vintage

I love the ruffles. it definitely adds character and flare to your typical business suit. too bad I don't have an office job though. although I sort of do, except I don't think steel toed shoes would look very appropriate with this outfit. and I have to wear pants for work. soo...maybe I should switch careers so I can wear cute outfits to work.

until next week - stay fashionably awesome!

dog problems

my dear pepper is in the biting phase of being a puppy. I think her original owner failed to mention that part to me. she's constantly nipping at ginger (which she is not a fan of) and your feet. I used to be able to run up the stairs to get away from her, but she quickly learned how to get up those. although she's not so great at getting down yet.

it's like taking care of a baby. except you let it pee/poop in the dirt rather than change its diaper. I wake up multiple times in the night to rush her downstairs and make sure she goes pee outside and not inside. I have to find ways to get her to stop whining and to just go to sleep. I can tell it's driving chris nuts, but I'm ok with it.

he was is so stressed that she's gonna chew everything and ruin the house while we're gone. but things are gonna work out. my mom, who works not more than a mile away from our house, is willing to stop by during her lunch break and on her way home from work to let her out of her crate for a bit and go to the bathroom if needed. it'll help a lot.

puppies are awesome. my family loves her. they love playing with her and watching the silly puppy things she does. like tripping over herself. or chewing on a bone the same size as her. or trying to carry a shoe across the room. or just cuddling up.

I don't regret getting a puppy. but then again it's only been a couple of days. but it makes me so happy to have something I can take care of and loves to cuddle with me. ginger liked to cuddle, sure, but if she'd always choose chris over me. now I have my own. and couldn't be happier.

chris spoils me. he sure can be a great guy sometimes. but we still have our problems. especially when it comes to communication. I want to go to a couples counseling to see if someone can help us learn to communicate effectively with each other. but we just "haven't gotten around to it yet." hmm. new operation perhaps? operation: get chris to talk to me. I'll have to get into that another time though. puppy needs me.

I win

after much coaxing (aka pouting) chris finally agreed to at least go look at the puppy. once he saw her, he caved.

"no don't take my picture"

looks like operation: new dog puppy has been accomplished. I rock at these operations. our family feels complete.

we're not sure what to name her yet. we figured we'll see what kind of personality comes out in the next couple of days and then decide. we're thinking either 'cayenne' if she's a feisty one or 'rosemary' (aka: 'rosie') if she's a sweetheart. so we'll see.

the carnival's in town!

I spent some more time with the dearest baby lorelai this weekend. she's amazing I love her so freakin' much. every time I spend time with her it makes me want to have a little baby that much more. I've been worried about having kids with chris for a while now - I'm not sure how he'd be as a father. sometimes, I'm convinced that he hates kids - every time we're in the mall or at a restaurant & there's an annoying kid around he seems frustrated. I mean I'm not a fan of annoying, screaming, obnoxious kids either, but what id that's just what you get? what if the kid is just having a bad day? there's only so much you can prevent or work with. and I just hope chris can just handle that.

for the first time in our relationship, though, I looked at chris & smiled because I couldn't wait to have kids with him - I knew he was gonna be a great dad. we were driving home from work & we passed by my old elementary school - desert vista elementary school. there were a shitload of cars parked in the parking lot and along the street so I was wondering what the hell was going on. I read their little bulletin board/sign thing that the little carnival thing they have every year was there. I was excited because I remember going around as a kid playing the games and hanging with my friends. chris said, "well that's good for you" knowing my excitement so I asked him if he would wanna go to the carnival or anything and he said "of course!" I saw & he told me how excited he would be to take his kids around to play games and shiz. and that's when I looked at him, smiled, & thought that he'd be a great father.

I can't wait.


puppy of the day: 

he's a 2 month old pit/mix. ADORABLE!

awesome: free facials!

lame: laundry.  

making bets

I made a bet. I don't like making bets in fear of the possibility of losing regardless of how confident I am. and not only did I make a bet, I made a bet with the mine manager at my work. the bet? the suns will either (a) win the championship or (b) beat the spurs if they ever play. how stupid I am? I (a) made a bet with my boss's boss's boss's boss & therefore can't talk too much shit since, well he's pretty high up there, (b) made a bet that is very difficult to win since the spurs have beaten the suns the past 4 years we've played them in the playoffs, and (c) made a bet that is soo important to win since I'm the "newbie" and need to impress/gain credibility around the office rather than make stupid bets against someone who has always won bets (the hydromet manager made the same kind of bet last year & lost).

I feel sick. I'm terrified of going to work next week. I know shit's gonna go down & I'm not one who has witty comebacks & even if I did - he's the mine manager! I'm screwed. I prayed the mavericks would beat the spurs last night, but they failed me & even though we won, I felt like calling into work because I know we'll be playing the spurs in round two which starts monday. every game they play I'm gonna be soo stressed out even more than I would normally be. and even though I'm rather confident we can beat the spurs - when we're hot, we've played better defense & we'll have home court advantage - I really don't wanna deal with the spurs beating us. hopefully they won't let me down.
the stakes? suns win - mark (the mine manager) has to wear a suns jersey for a month. spurs win - I'll have to wear a spurs jersey for a month. *shivers*


update: mark showed up to work today with a spurs polo & spurs basketball shorts over his pants. I think this is war.


puppy of the day:I really love the color of this one.

6 month old female lab/pit mix 
crate & potty trained

aww isn't she precious? would be perfect for our humongous yard.





awesome: la roux's "bulletproof."
lame: presentations.

all things considered...

so here I am, working on what seems to be a never-ending excel spreadsheet, trying to figure out how everything is calculated, listening to pandora on my phone (can't stream at work which is super lame), trying my best to stay awake after another late game night, when this song comes up: "all things considered" by yankee grey. my first instinct was to change it since the first five or so notes game the impression that it was a country song, but I was in the middle of typing something, so I couldn't. Instead I listened to it and found it ridiculously catchy. And for some reason it made me think of TJ.

since TJ & I have completely stopped talking, I catch myself thinking about the times we spent together and how much fun I had. I wonder if I was truly being selfish and not understanding l or if I was being a bitch or if I was at complete fault like he kept claiming or what. and then I wonder if I really am a drama queen as other people claim.

but after listening to this rather short tune, I've come to the conclusion that, all things considered, I'm doing just fine. I've got the love and support from my family and friends. I have a wonderful, caring, thoughtful fiancée. I'm about to move into a beautiful house. I have a challenging and exciting job career. I may not have the drama or the fun times that he brought me, but I'm pretty dang happy - consistently happy and rather stress free. I don't want drama. I like how everything's simple now. and even though it was a hellish and long nine or so months, where I am now is awesome and I like love that. it's nice not having to feel guilty every time I spend time with friends or family or wanna take a nap. life is good.


puppy of the day (until I get a new one):

10 week old mixed female. mainly crate trained!

awesome: the suns winning playoff games that are crucial to win and winning them by 20+ points.

lame: spreadsheets that refer to every other spreadsheet and workbook on site making me take hours just to find out where one single number came from.

moving on up

we got a letter in the mail over the weekend from the housing development chris & I are getting our house built. it's what I've been waiting for since january. our closing of escrow (or whatever they call it) is set for may 19th! this is the day we'll get the keys to our house! I just can't wait for it to be done because it sure has been a hassle. so in 22 more days (not counting today) chris & I will be sleeping in our own home. on our amazing bed. it's got the perfect name - cloud supreme. how can you not like a bed that's call the cloud supreme? anyways, super stoked to be getting out of my parent's house - not that I don't love my family and all, just 6 adults under a small roof is just too hectic. and I seem to be the one causing most of the issues. 

other than that, I don't really have anything interesting to say today.

here's the puppy I've fallen in love with for the day. 

8-9 wk old female pit - her name would be calcium or "calie"

awesome: found this while researching some stuff for work. it's an illustration of how the copper in the solution (the little thing with eyebrows) is attracted to the organic (the blobby thing) during one of the processes. love it's honesty.

lame: msha is on site today & will be inspecting the tankhouse (where I work) any minute now. I'm all about mine safety & enforcing regulations and policies, but I think msha inspectors have a tendency to take it too far (labeling all empty containers "empty" - really?). they also just bring stress around the workplace and prevent employees from getting the important shit done since they have to spend days running around checking EVERYTHING possible to make sure it will "comply."