december.

December came more swiftly than I had anticipated. I once looked forward to it, but now dread the fact that it's here. Finals are stressful, work is discouraging.
My favorite season is nearing its end and Winter has crept in with its icy hands and winds that tear at even the warmest of souls.

This is my winter song to you
The storm is coming soon
It rolls in from the sea

My love, a beacon in the night
My words will be your light
To carry you to me

Winter Song by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michealson

Thank heaven for family and loved ones <3

Randomly Alex

Hey. I think it's safe to say I have a compulsive need to share weird things about myself. Today I'd like to share 5 of my life goals that might surprise you. Or maybe not.

1. Own a puppy.
I know. They grow and get older and become "dogs," but to me, it will always be referred to as a puppy. And it has to be MINE. Mine. My very own puppy. And it has to be beautiful and go jogging with me and love me unconditionally.

2. Bare children.
I will adopt if given the opportunity, but I want to give birth at least once. At most, seven times. Yeah. SEVEN.

3. Write a book.
I love love love reading, and I consider myself a pretty good writer. I would love to write something that other people would pay to read. That would make my....life.

4. Live outside Utah.
Don't get me wrong, I love the Beehive. I just want to branch out and experience an every day life somewhere that isn't....here. The above picture happens to be Seattle, which would be ideal.

5. Only marry once.
In Autumn time. One wedding. For eternity.

A tribute to my Mother (better late than never)

                                          My mother and I, October of this year

This past Sunday was my mother's birthday, I wanted to do this post then, but I've been preoccupied. SO here it is, two days late.

I remember having a great childhood, but I don't remember many details about it. However, one thing I do remember, and probably one of my very first memories, is my mother singing me to sleep when I had had a nightmare. To me and any of my siblings, one song in particular will bring memories flooding back. To this day it has a special place in my heart and I will sing it to my own children one day.

My mother is the most selfless person I know (-less, not -ish). She has worked to help support our family for as long as I can remember. She serves faithfully and goes above and beyond for our church. She doesn't hesitate to help a neighbor or friend in need. She keeps our house in order and manages her own business. I know what you're thinking, "This is impossible. Your mother must be a robot." But no, she isn't because she also has the biggest, most loving heart of anyone on earth. Just the other day, I was super grumpy to her and she hugged me and said she loved me. No robot would do that.

I can't possibly talk about all the wonderful things about my mother because then this post would take me my whole life to type. So just know SHE IS THE BEST MOM ON EARTH.

I love you mommy :)

things you probably don't know about me and probably don't care about but I'm going to tell you anyway

1. I cry a lot.
This may not be much of a surprise, but it's true. I can cry over ridiculous things. I once cried during a diaper commercial. This is because I have an irrational love of babies, but that's a post for another time. the point is I cry all the time and with almost no warning. I cry when I'm happy, sad, mad, bored, whatever.
2. I keep a diligent journal.
An ACTUAL journal with paper and pen. I tape in ticket stubs and draw dumb pictures and write down stupid stuff I do with my boyfriend. I write what's happening in my family and what I'm doing in school and everything in between.
3. I am in love with IcyHot.
I keep a bottle by my bed and smell it right before I lay down to go to sleep.
4. I have terrible terrible dreams.
The worst thing you can imagine: I've dreamed it. People have been murdered in my dreams. While I could probably peg it to watching too much Law and Order: SVU, I try not to blame Mariska Hargitay for any of my problems.
5. I have disgusting eating habits.
I'll go all day on one bowl of cereal and then eat an entire bowl of popcorn and chips & salsa at 1am. Gross.

learning to laugh

Don't misinterpret the title of this post. I know how to laugh. But I also know how to get extremely frustrated and angry.
So recently I've been learning how to laugh at myself and at situations that would normally make me very upset. It's a learning process about not focusing on things I can't change. The operative word being "process."
My goal is to be able to one day 'laugh things off' and say "well, that's dumb, but whatever, I can't do anything about it."
Workin' on it.

duh duh duh dance

Have I mentioned I dance? I do. I dance. Used to dance a whole lot....now not so much. But I'm constantly dancing around like a lunatic so I guess that counts. But really, I'm in a ballet class and I am in love with it. If my ballet class had a mouth I would kiss it.
I've always admired those who are classically trained in ballet, but I don't think anyone can truly appreciate ballet until they try it. It is the most difficult form of dance I have ever encountered, and I've tried almost everything. It is also extremely fulfilling. Ballet is the kind of hard work and dedication that I love being a part of. What I miss most about dancing five days a week is being constantly challenged, and ballet is giving me that challenge and forcing me to become better.
The saddest thing about this class is realizing how much technique I've lost because it's been so long. But that isn't stopping me from having fun or working my butt off.

On another note, I still haven't been on Facebook and I feel awesome. Ya'll can't even hold me down!

It's me.............alex.

Hey ya'll! (and by 'hey ya'll' I mean the two of you who read this) It's me, Alex. Blogging to you from my kitchen counter. Probably should be doing homework but for some reason this seemed super important. It's time to give an update on my first week of my month without my beef Facebook. Well, my used-to-be-beef. We're not so tight anymore.
So I uninstalled FB from my trusted blackberry and that was a HUGE step. I mean, I actually just miss seeing the logo on my little broken screen. But I'm dealing with it.
I'd like to add that I'm doing this hiatus out of spite. Because SOMEONE told me I couldn't. So I'm out to prove not only to them but to myself that I can live without the constant connection to people I haven't actually spoken to since high school, and even then all I did was glare at them from across the room because their shirt was cuter than mine.
The point is, I'm still going strong and only having slight withdrawals. Success! So far.

Stupid F-ing B. (facebook, that is)

Tomorrow will be the first day of my new Facebook hiatus. So I may be blogging more to rant and whatnot. Mostly about dumb stuff that I could walk in the next room and tell someone, but choose not to. And because Anika is the only one who reads this, I could basically just write posts directly to her. In fact! Anika? This one's for you baby :)

"So many people gonna say that they want you..."

"...they try to get you thinkin' they really care. But there is nothin' like the warmth of the one who has put in the time and you know he's gonna be there. " -Gavin DeGraw

It's time for me to split the people in my life into two columns (Office season 8 reference). On one side, the people who genuinely care about me, and on the other, the people who don't. There was once a time, a long time ago, when I didn't care if people were genuine towards me, I only cared if they acknowledged my existence and acted like I was an ok gal to be around. Well guess what? That time is over. So here's to spending more time with the people that matter, and less time with the people who bring me down.

Feelin' Two Foot Small

I've felt small as of late. As in, I have felt small in the world. A lot is asked of me in school and work and other things and I can easily feel overwhelmed. More than once, these past few weeks, I have found some place to be alone and just broken down. While I've heard its healthy to do that every once in a while, it makes me feel weak.
Remembering what happened ten years ago today makes me feel even smaller. Until I open my eyes and see everyone's flag waving proudly and everyone online paying homage to the land of the free and home of the brave. I could not be prouder to be a part of this great nation that pulls together to remember and pay tribute to those who were lost in so great a tragedy. And then I don't feel so small anymore.

I sometimes listen to music....ok, always.

In the car. In my room. On a jog. On a bike ride. I'm listening to music. I sing. I dance. I get jiggy. You get it.

I'm not sure when this started, but my obsession with lyrics, melodies, and instruments has been with me a very long time. I grew up in a family surrounded, practically drowning, in music. Now, as an adult, my music tastes have changed quite a bit, but the old stuff stays with me. I have broad tastes as well. In one playlist I can go from Chopin to The Strokes to Jason Aldean without skipping a beat (Figuratively, of course. Obviously there were some skipped beats there).
Music is so much a part of my life, sometimes the only way I can think of to express my mood or my thoughts is through lyrics. Hence, the name of this blog :)
So stay tuned in the future for words of brilliant lyricists whom I practically worship.

This. Is. My. Blog.

Howdy. Yes, the name of my blog is the first line of a song by One Republic called "Come Home." It happens to be what played when my alarm went off this morning so that's what was in my head when the website asked me to give this blessed website a name. I like it, though. I also thought about naming it "HEY! Listen up, fools!!" but I thought that sounded a little harsh.
I'll be typing some thoughts here now and then when I have too much to fit in 140 characters on Twitter. That's where I usually say exactly what I'm thinking, which can be dangerous to the 3 people who follow me. Jk. I have like...20 followers. Don't judge.