Sorry for the absence. The last few months have been challenging for us financially, spiritually, and emotionally. I just wanted to let you know I'm still here and will continue to update this blog as regularly as I can, or as blog-worthy stuff comes up. My work schedule is crazier than ever, but I promise I'll have some more detailed updates soon.
One thing I will say is, as hard as these last few months have been, God has provided for us every step of the way. That has been abundantly clear since we moved back to Santa Barbara and have been dealing with all the challenges that come with moving to a place with such a high cost of living. We've been living on God's faithfulness and grace, which has been both frightening and comforting at the same time, if that makes any sense.
On a completely unrelated note, who else is as excited about fall as I am? Getting sick of the hotter-than-usual weather, even by Santa Barbara standards. Global warming + no air conditioning = ME NO WANT.
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Monday, June 15, 2015
Home
Well, things have finally settled down a bit. This post make be a little all-over-the-place because it's late, but here it goes.
This was one of the hardest moves I have ever had to deal with in the physical sense (I will spare you the details of my being violently ill the night before/morning we had to pack the truck, which rendered me near useless), and we never would have gotten everything done if it wasn't for our friends and family in both San Diego and Santa Barbara helping us. Literally, that truck would've never gotten packed or unpacked so efficiently, our last place would've never gotten so clean, and I would've brought up a lot of stuff I didn't really need anymore.
Most stuff is unpacked and in its proper place (again, thanks to some good friends of ours; I was especially thankful to have my kitchen clean and organized by the end of move-in day). The bedroom is still a disaster with bags of clothes and other random odds and ends strewn everywhere, but we just haven't had the time or energy to tackle it yet. We were so physically drained at the end of the move and we've hit the ground running ever since. When we woke up the morning after the move, Stuart thought I was dead for a moment and checked to see if I was still breathing (true story). I don't remember the last time I was so physically exhausted that I couldn't even move. And the funny thing is, once I had recovered from that, with all the walking we've been doing (in clunky walking shoes I haven't worn since my retail days), I ended up with shin splints and knee issues (splints are gone, and knees are thankfully slowly getting better).
Physical ailments aside, I'm so glad to finally be back in Santa Barbara. I think it's beginning to sink in that, oh, we're not on an extended vacation, we're home. Like, actually and truly home. A year ago I would have thought living up here was just a pipe dream. But things are slowly working themselves out. We have jobs, we have a roof over our head, we can buy food... and we get to do life in Santa Barbara.
I walked the UCSB commencement stage five years ago. Leaving Santa Barbara after college was one of the hardest things I had to do. I never imagined I'd get to come back. I mean, look at this:
I get to live here again? It wasn't just a once-in-a-lifetime, only-for-college thing? Is this real life?
I'm also incredibly thankful that we have some dear friends that still live in the area. I don't know how we could've handled the move and life in general these last couple of weeks without them. Something I'm noticing, though, now that we're away from the friends and network we had in San Diego, is that I will, in fact, have to go out and make new friends. And since I work from home, and church community group is on hold until fall, I'm actually going to have to go out of my way to meet people--which, if you know me, is not exactly one of my strongest traits. So that's a challenge on my immediate horizon. I've got my eyes and ears open for opportunities to connect with people; I just hope I have the courage to get out of my comfort zone and put myself out there.
Copper still seems a little anxious. I think it's going to take her a while to get used to our new home, and I'm hoping against hope that she'll eventually NOT bark every time someone walks by our door or talks within earshot of our window. But that's something she did at our old place, so we'll see.
Something I'd like to get once finances are more settled is a bike. Not a road bike, but just something to get me around town or the beach and up the occasional hill without inducing a heart attack. I feel like once I have a bike (and a bike lock), getting around will be SO much easier. We're trying to minimize our use of the car (for lots of reasons), and Santa Barbara is very pedestrian- and bike-friendly. Places that take me a while to get to on foot will be much more accessible by bike.
Stuart and I are both really excited about this next phase of our lives. I'll be sure to post about our adventures (and Copper's adventures, too!).
Anyway, my brain is shutting down on me, so I better leave it there. Goodnight!
This was one of the hardest moves I have ever had to deal with in the physical sense (I will spare you the details of my being violently ill the night before/morning we had to pack the truck, which rendered me near useless), and we never would have gotten everything done if it wasn't for our friends and family in both San Diego and Santa Barbara helping us. Literally, that truck would've never gotten packed or unpacked so efficiently, our last place would've never gotten so clean, and I would've brought up a lot of stuff I didn't really need anymore.
Most stuff is unpacked and in its proper place (again, thanks to some good friends of ours; I was especially thankful to have my kitchen clean and organized by the end of move-in day). The bedroom is still a disaster with bags of clothes and other random odds and ends strewn everywhere, but we just haven't had the time or energy to tackle it yet. We were so physically drained at the end of the move and we've hit the ground running ever since. When we woke up the morning after the move, Stuart thought I was dead for a moment and checked to see if I was still breathing (true story). I don't remember the last time I was so physically exhausted that I couldn't even move. And the funny thing is, once I had recovered from that, with all the walking we've been doing (in clunky walking shoes I haven't worn since my retail days), I ended up with shin splints and knee issues (splints are gone, and knees are thankfully slowly getting better).
Physical ailments aside, I'm so glad to finally be back in Santa Barbara. I think it's beginning to sink in that, oh, we're not on an extended vacation, we're home. Like, actually and truly home. A year ago I would have thought living up here was just a pipe dream. But things are slowly working themselves out. We have jobs, we have a roof over our head, we can buy food... and we get to do life in Santa Barbara.
I walked the UCSB commencement stage five years ago. Leaving Santa Barbara after college was one of the hardest things I had to do. I never imagined I'd get to come back. I mean, look at this:
I get to live here again? It wasn't just a once-in-a-lifetime, only-for-college thing? Is this real life?
I'm also incredibly thankful that we have some dear friends that still live in the area. I don't know how we could've handled the move and life in general these last couple of weeks without them. Something I'm noticing, though, now that we're away from the friends and network we had in San Diego, is that I will, in fact, have to go out and make new friends. And since I work from home, and church community group is on hold until fall, I'm actually going to have to go out of my way to meet people--which, if you know me, is not exactly one of my strongest traits. So that's a challenge on my immediate horizon. I've got my eyes and ears open for opportunities to connect with people; I just hope I have the courage to get out of my comfort zone and put myself out there.
Copper still seems a little anxious. I think it's going to take her a while to get used to our new home, and I'm hoping against hope that she'll eventually NOT bark every time someone walks by our door or talks within earshot of our window. But that's something she did at our old place, so we'll see.
Something I'd like to get once finances are more settled is a bike. Not a road bike, but just something to get me around town or the beach and up the occasional hill without inducing a heart attack. I feel like once I have a bike (and a bike lock), getting around will be SO much easier. We're trying to minimize our use of the car (for lots of reasons), and Santa Barbara is very pedestrian- and bike-friendly. Places that take me a while to get to on foot will be much more accessible by bike.
Stuart and I are both really excited about this next phase of our lives. I'll be sure to post about our adventures (and Copper's adventures, too!).
Anyway, my brain is shutting down on me, so I better leave it there. Goodnight!
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Adventures in Moving
So it's been a while since I've posted anything. That's mainly due to the fact that life became even more bonkers than it was before. I was finishing a PR class, I'm working two jobs, and I'm also trying to pack our entire home. Oh, and taking care of our crazy (but adorable) dog at the same time.
We are in the process of moving to Santa Barbara, and are in the last two weeks of life in our current home. I'm tremendously excited to move back to Santa Barbara, as it has always been a special place for us. For me, it has always felt like home in a different way than other places I've lived. We have friends and a church in Santa Barbara, so it's not like we're going into completely unknown, unfamiliar territory. But at the same time, change is hard, and when it comes to things like, oh, finances, it can be downright scary.
We've been praying about this move and thinking and talking and assessing things for several months now, and enough things finally lined up where we said, "Okay, God, we're taking a leap of faith." Not long after my husband put in his notice at work last month, we found an apartment that was within our means, recently remodeled, and accepts dogs (all of which are hard enough to find individually in Santa Barbara, let alone as a combo deal). My husband is working so hard to find a job while he lives in our minimally furnished apartment. Meanwhile, I'm trying to work as many hours as I can and simultaneously pack our belongings here. It's tough in a lot of ways, and it's easy to feel helpless or for fear to creep in.
It's moments like that when I need to remind myself how God has always taken care of us and will always continue to do so. Not because we've done anything to deserve it, but because he's good and he loves us. So we're trusting him to work things out, even while a part of me is going, "man, things are getting kind of crazy here..."
These next couple weeks will probably be the hardest. I thought once I was done with my PR class, and therefore had one less thing to focus on amid the myriad of logistical concerns, that things would get slightly easier. HAHAHA, NOPE. Because now it's hitting me that we're leaving in less than two weeks. And I'm not talking about my brain going, "OH MAN, so much stuff to pack! How will we get it done?!" No, no, no. Now the emotions are kicking in.
We've always wanted to go back to Santa Barbara, but that doesn't make saying goodbye to all the friends we have here any easier. It doesn't stop thoughts like "I wish I had hung out with this person more while I was living here" and "I'm going to miss playing with so-and-so's kids" and others from popping into my head. And yeah, there's only a three to three-and-a-half hour car ride between San Diego and Santa Barbara, but visiting is not the same as doing life together on a regular basis. And I am going to miss my friends here something fierce...
In a way I'm both looking forward to the last weekend of May (our moving weekend) and dreading it, because of everything that it entails. It's like I want to hit the fast-forward button and the pause button at the same time.
Not sure if I will have time for another update between now and the big move, but I'll be sure to post about life in Santa Barbara once we're up there. In the meantime, keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
Much love,
Alyssa
We are in the process of moving to Santa Barbara, and are in the last two weeks of life in our current home. I'm tremendously excited to move back to Santa Barbara, as it has always been a special place for us. For me, it has always felt like home in a different way than other places I've lived. We have friends and a church in Santa Barbara, so it's not like we're going into completely unknown, unfamiliar territory. But at the same time, change is hard, and when it comes to things like, oh, finances, it can be downright scary.
We've been praying about this move and thinking and talking and assessing things for several months now, and enough things finally lined up where we said, "Okay, God, we're taking a leap of faith." Not long after my husband put in his notice at work last month, we found an apartment that was within our means, recently remodeled, and accepts dogs (all of which are hard enough to find individually in Santa Barbara, let alone as a combo deal). My husband is working so hard to find a job while he lives in our minimally furnished apartment. Meanwhile, I'm trying to work as many hours as I can and simultaneously pack our belongings here. It's tough in a lot of ways, and it's easy to feel helpless or for fear to creep in.
It's moments like that when I need to remind myself how God has always taken care of us and will always continue to do so. Not because we've done anything to deserve it, but because he's good and he loves us. So we're trusting him to work things out, even while a part of me is going, "man, things are getting kind of crazy here..."
These next couple weeks will probably be the hardest. I thought once I was done with my PR class, and therefore had one less thing to focus on amid the myriad of logistical concerns, that things would get slightly easier. HAHAHA, NOPE. Because now it's hitting me that we're leaving in less than two weeks. And I'm not talking about my brain going, "OH MAN, so much stuff to pack! How will we get it done?!" No, no, no. Now the emotions are kicking in.
We've always wanted to go back to Santa Barbara, but that doesn't make saying goodbye to all the friends we have here any easier. It doesn't stop thoughts like "I wish I had hung out with this person more while I was living here" and "I'm going to miss playing with so-and-so's kids" and others from popping into my head. And yeah, there's only a three to three-and-a-half hour car ride between San Diego and Santa Barbara, but visiting is not the same as doing life together on a regular basis. And I am going to miss my friends here something fierce...
In a way I'm both looking forward to the last weekend of May (our moving weekend) and dreading it, because of everything that it entails. It's like I want to hit the fast-forward button and the pause button at the same time.
Not sure if I will have time for another update between now and the big move, but I'll be sure to post about life in Santa Barbara once we're up there. In the meantime, keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
Much love,
Alyssa
Monday, March 30, 2015
The briefest of updates.
I recently got full time (or close to it) at one of my publishing jobs, so it's been extra busy around here lately. When I have some down time, I'll make some blog posts. For now, hang tight. You'll be seeing me here soon.
Thanks.
Alyssa
Thanks.
Alyssa
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
A Shortcut to Mushrooms!
Well, technically a mushroom, and there were few shortcuts involved. Stuart's been wanting a Super Mario mushroom hat, so I crocheted one for him. I'm quite proud of the way it turned out, so I wanted to share it with you all in internet-land. Ta-da!
Friday, January 16, 2015
Mild Inspiration Is Better than None
Something I've noticed since finishing college (and even a bit during college)--I've felt a significant decrease in my creativity. Ask my friends who knew me in high school; I liked to sketch pictures and stuff, sure, but I loved to make up stories--primarily Lord of the Rings fan-fiction (go ahead and laugh, it was pretty silly)--to entertain them at lunchtime and beyond.
I'm going to be purposely vague here, partially because I don't want anyone to steal my idea, but also to avoid awkwardness if this doesn't lead anywhere. I've been kicking around this idea for a story that would probably fall under young adult fiction. A type of original fairy tale (original in that I am not putting a twist, spin, or implementing an "modern-day version" techniques to Grimm, Disney, or any other existing fairy or folk tale. I won't wax philosophical about the meaning of "originality" because I'm tired and really, no one wants to hear about that right now.). It's something I came up with about four years ago, and aside from some outline notes and an attempt to start the story, it's mostly just been stewing in the back of my head (and on my external hard drive and a scrap piece of paper in a notebook) ever since.
So, about that blog post title up there... The inspiration came after reading an entertaining article on The Mary Sue about a story in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion. I am ashamed to admit, as a self-professed Tolkien geek, that I own but have never read The Silmarillion. (I tried once in high school and got about 10 pages in before giving up. Now that I'm so much older and wiser (HA!) I'd like to give it another go... eventually). So, this humorous run-down intrigued me.
The inspiration came from a piece of artwork the author linked from a user on DeviantArt that piqued my interest. I followed the link and couldn't help but spend a ridiculous amount of time perusing a number of the artist's other pieces. Here's just a couple examples to give you an idea:
I am no man by breathing2004 on DeviantArt
fate of Beren and Luthien by breathing2004 on DeviantArt
For real, do yourself a favor and go look through this guy's gallery. At the very least, go look at the full-size image of that last piece.
(Side note: I'm pretty sure I love stained-glass and stained-glass-looking art because of the opening sequence to Beauty and the Beast. Side-side note: THAT MUSIC. My heart. Ahem... what was I saying?)
Anyway, when I was looking at his art, in my head I was going, man, when was the last time I drew something? Which turned into, when was the last time I wrote something? Like, an actual story? All of this boils down to: I was feeling inspired today, and with an encouraging nudge from my husband to get back into drawing and actually intentionally practice at it, I sketched a picture for the story I have not written yet. Which sounds odd, when I see it typed on the screen like that, but here's my point...
There was a spark. I hope that I can push past my tendency to not follow through and finish things, and fan that little flame and actually commit to making something. Who knows, maybe a decade from now I'll have an illustrated fairy-tale book out on the market. Or I might not. Maybe I'll go in an entirely different direction. Maybe I'll do something that only a few people will ever see. But that's okay, because the important thing here is that I pursue something creative and actually complete something. Not for an ego trip, not to show off and say "LOOKIT ME! I made art! Tell me you like it!" But because I enjoy it, because I want to tap back into my creativity, because I want to create something that, hopefully, will bring something special to another person's life.
When I've had very little to no inspiration for years, mild inspiration goes a long way. If this does lead to more art-output (for lack of a better term), I will keep you posted.
Now if you'll excuse me, I feel the sudden urge to watch Beauty and the Beast... and also to make a sketch of the White Tree of Gondor...
I'm going to be purposely vague here, partially because I don't want anyone to steal my idea, but also to avoid awkwardness if this doesn't lead anywhere. I've been kicking around this idea for a story that would probably fall under young adult fiction. A type of original fairy tale (original in that I am not putting a twist, spin, or implementing an "modern-day version" techniques to Grimm, Disney, or any other existing fairy or folk tale. I won't wax philosophical about the meaning of "originality" because I'm tired and really, no one wants to hear about that right now.). It's something I came up with about four years ago, and aside from some outline notes and an attempt to start the story, it's mostly just been stewing in the back of my head (and on my external hard drive and a scrap piece of paper in a notebook) ever since.
So, about that blog post title up there... The inspiration came after reading an entertaining article on The Mary Sue about a story in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion. I am ashamed to admit, as a self-professed Tolkien geek, that I own but have never read The Silmarillion. (I tried once in high school and got about 10 pages in before giving up. Now that I'm so much older and wiser (HA!) I'd like to give it another go... eventually). So, this humorous run-down intrigued me.
The inspiration came from a piece of artwork the author linked from a user on DeviantArt that piqued my interest. I followed the link and couldn't help but spend a ridiculous amount of time perusing a number of the artist's other pieces. Here's just a couple examples to give you an idea:
I am no man by breathing2004 on DeviantArt
fate of Beren and Luthien by breathing2004 on DeviantArt
For real, do yourself a favor and go look through this guy's gallery. At the very least, go look at the full-size image of that last piece.
(Side note: I'm pretty sure I love stained-glass and stained-glass-looking art because of the opening sequence to Beauty and the Beast. Side-side note: THAT MUSIC. My heart. Ahem... what was I saying?)
Anyway, when I was looking at his art, in my head I was going, man, when was the last time I drew something? Which turned into, when was the last time I wrote something? Like, an actual story? All of this boils down to: I was feeling inspired today, and with an encouraging nudge from my husband to get back into drawing and actually intentionally practice at it, I sketched a picture for the story I have not written yet. Which sounds odd, when I see it typed on the screen like that, but here's my point...
There was a spark. I hope that I can push past my tendency to not follow through and finish things, and fan that little flame and actually commit to making something. Who knows, maybe a decade from now I'll have an illustrated fairy-tale book out on the market. Or I might not. Maybe I'll go in an entirely different direction. Maybe I'll do something that only a few people will ever see. But that's okay, because the important thing here is that I pursue something creative and actually complete something. Not for an ego trip, not to show off and say "LOOKIT ME! I made art! Tell me you like it!" But because I enjoy it, because I want to tap back into my creativity, because I want to create something that, hopefully, will bring something special to another person's life.
When I've had very little to no inspiration for years, mild inspiration goes a long way. If this does lead to more art-output (for lack of a better term), I will keep you posted.
Now if you'll excuse me, I feel the sudden urge to watch Beauty and the Beast... and also to make a sketch of the White Tree of Gondor...
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
We Rang in the New Year by Saving a Dog
This post will be brief, as I need to get back to work, but I just wanted to say that I hope everyone had a great holiday season and a good start to the new year. Stuart and I are looking forward to a bunch of different things this year, and I will update you as those come to fruition.
We had an interesting start to our new year. As we pulled into our driveway around 12:30 a.m. on New Year's Day, we saw an animal trotting along the curb toward us. Turned out to be an old, tiny, dachshund with a weird skin condition on its back legs that made the skin all hairless and saggy. Long story short, we snatched her out of the street and kept her until Friday, when the Humane Society was open. She was a sweet little dog, once she wasn't scared of us anymore, and cheerfully wagged her tail when we took her out for walks. The people at the Animal Control desk said her owner had called Friday morning and was looking for her, so we were thankful to discover she had a home.
This is the second time we've found a lost dog near our home, and even though we've lived here for over two years, this oddly only started happening after we got our dog, Copper. It'll be interesting to see if any other lost pups find their way to us this year. We're just glad we were in the right place at the right time, because we live on a very busy street and who knows how long these little dogs would last out there on their own.
Well, that's all for now. I think I'm going to take my work down to Starbucks to enjoy this bizarre, spring-like weather we're suddenly having. January in San Diego, everybody.
Happy New Year!
We had an interesting start to our new year. As we pulled into our driveway around 12:30 a.m. on New Year's Day, we saw an animal trotting along the curb toward us. Turned out to be an old, tiny, dachshund with a weird skin condition on its back legs that made the skin all hairless and saggy. Long story short, we snatched her out of the street and kept her until Friday, when the Humane Society was open. She was a sweet little dog, once she wasn't scared of us anymore, and cheerfully wagged her tail when we took her out for walks. The people at the Animal Control desk said her owner had called Friday morning and was looking for her, so we were thankful to discover she had a home.
This is the second time we've found a lost dog near our home, and even though we've lived here for over two years, this oddly only started happening after we got our dog, Copper. It'll be interesting to see if any other lost pups find their way to us this year. We're just glad we were in the right place at the right time, because we live on a very busy street and who knows how long these little dogs would last out there on their own.
Well, that's all for now. I think I'm going to take my work down to Starbucks to enjoy this bizarre, spring-like weather we're suddenly having. January in San Diego, everybody.
Happy New Year!
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